Braun: Vouchers hearing is latest political gimmick masquerading as school reform
Published: Monday, February 07, 2011, 7:30 AM
Students in 13 failing districts would apply for scholarship vouchers to offset the costs of attending private or parochial school. An Assembly panel will consider the measure.TRENTON — A man shouted, "Our children are dying" and, after accusing the public schools of "killing" children by contributing to the crime rate in his city, he demanded the state enact a school voucher law. Angel Cordero of Camden said poor minorities had waited long enough.
Cordero, an employee of an organization lobbying for vouchers, was only slightly more emotional than those of Newark Mayor Cory Booker who accused public school supporters of "infantilizing" minorities and no fewer than three times paraphrased Rev. Martin Luther King’s "fierce urgency of now" remark.
A lot of high drama at last week’s hearing on school vouchers. Not just shouts and tears, but also