Rep. Obey To DC Children: It’s For ‘THE UNIONS’
Based on what the Washington Post is reporting, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey just gave DC’s school children the finger. Here’s how the Washington Post ripped into Chairman Obey:
REP. DAVID R. Obey (Wis.) and other congressional Democrats should spare us their phony concern about the children participating in the District’s school voucher program. If they cared for the future of these students, they wouldn’t be so quick as to try to kill the program that affords low-income, minority children a chance at a better education. Their refusal to even give the program a fair hearing makes it critical that D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) seek help from voucher supporters in the Senate and, if need be, President Obama.
Last week, the Democrat-controlled House passed a spending bill that spells the end, after the 2009-10 school year, of the federally funded program that enables poor students to attend private schools with scholarships of up to $7,500. A statement signed by Mr. Obey as Appropriations Committee chairman that accompanied the $410 billion spending package directs D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee to “promptly take steps to minimize potential disruption and ensure smooth transition” for students forced back into the public schools.
We would like Mr. Obey and his colleagues to talk about possible “disruption” with Deborah Parker, mother of two children who attend Sidwell Friends School because of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. “The mere thought of returning to public school frightens me,” Ms. Parker told us as she related the opportunities, such as a trip to China for her son, made possible by the program. Tell her, as critics claim, that vouchers don’t work, and she’ll list her children’s improved test scores, feeling of safety and improved motivation.
If Sidwell Friends sounds familiar, it should. It’s where Chelsea Clinton attended high school. It’s also where Sasha and Malia Obama are attending school.
It’s time that Chairman Obey was honest. If he was honest, he’d admit that this policy isn’t “for the children”, that it’s ‘for the NEA’. If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s elitist legislators treating us like we can’t figure things out for ourselves. Chairman Obey is treating us like we’re totally gullible.
What’s worse is that he’s telling the children enrolled in this obviously successful program, and their parents, that public schools are just fine, that these children’s safety isn’t a policy priority to the Democrats, that giving these children the best possible opportunity isn’t as important as appeasing the NEA.
I didn’t agree with President Bush very often on education policy but one thing that I’ll wholeheartedly agree with him with his statements about education being proof of the “soft bigotry” of the 21st century. In fact, Chairman Obey is the personification of that soft bigotry.
This paragraph from an NY Times article is worth examining:
For decades, liberals and conservatives have made school vouchers a policy battlefield. Many Republicans see them as a way to offer middle- and low-income students the same chance at a high-quality private education as wealthy children have, and to give public schools some free-market competition along the way. Many Democrats, and the teachers’ unions that back them, say the voucher programs leech taxpayer money from public schools, making it harder for them to serve any children well.
Why should taxpayers fund failing inner city public schools? Does the NEA think the failing inner city public schools are entitled to lavish funding just because they’re represented by the teachers’ union?
Frankly, DC’s public schools offer a worthless product. It’s immoral for people to have to pay for such abject failures.
This statement cuts to the heart of the matter:
Michelle A. Rhee, the schools chancellor, said she did not share the negative view of vouchers held by many big-city superintendents.
“Part of my job is to make sure that all kids get a great education, and it doesn’t matter whether that’s in charter, parochial or public schools,” Ms. Rhee said. “I don’t think vouchers are going to solve all the ills of public education, but parents who are zoned to schools that are failing kids should have options to do better by their kids.”
The goal of setting education policy should be to guarantee that children get the best educational opportunity possible. The goal shouldn’t be about preserving failure just because legislators are getting campaign contributions for supporting anti-voucher policies.
It’s obvious that Michelle Rhee thinks that it’s part of her job description is to use every tool at her availability to guarantee that the children in DC’s school district get a great education. It’s obvious that she doesn’t care about the unions or the administrators or the bureaucrats. Rather, she truly cares about the kids.
Chairman Obey can’t say that. That’s because he’s been bought by the NEA.
Technorati Tags: David Obey, Education, Campaign Contributions, NEA, Chelsea Clinton, Sasha Obama, Malia Obama, Sidwell Friends School, Unions, Michelle Rhee, Deborah Parker, Vouchers, Scholarships
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog