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News > Features
For the past eight years, Meeks has been the leading proponent of public school funding reform, sponsoring bills that would increase the state income tax. Conservative Republicans, who have long supported school vouchers, see the Meeks bill as some sort of victory. And maybe they're right. Meeks still believes in the need for school funding reform and an income tax hike. But he realizes that's not going to happen. Not now. And probably not in the foreseeable future. In Springfield, legislators have always found an excuse for not doing the right thing. It's an election year. The economy is bad. The governor would veto a tax increase. "It's not the right time for school funding reform," Meeks said sarcastically when I talked to him Thursday. "It's never the right time." So rather than curse the darkness, Meeks wants to light a candle. He's trying to offer hope to some parents and children who are locked into failing schools. School choice is the answer, according to Meeks. Meeks wants to offer state-funded vouchers to students in the 15 worst-performing Chicago high schools and the 50 worst elementary schools. The students could use those vouchers to attend any school that tells the state board of education they're willing to participate in the plan. Meeks said he envisions most of the students moving to other public schools in Chicago, but I don't think there are enough good public schools with enough empty seats to accept hundreds, or thousands, of students - assuming that many sign up for the program. Suburban school districts in the past have refused to accept children who wanted to transfer under the federal No Child Left Behind law. So the most likely beneficiaries would be private schools and, in Chicago, that means parochial schools. Actually, the Meeks bill, S.B. 2494, is pretty broad at this point and doesn't restrict the voucher program to public school students in Chicago or those schools that score lowest on standardized tests. He plans on amending the bill but is open to the idea that other municipalities with poor school systems might want to join in. When asked why he would give vouchers to students in only the worst-performing schools, Meeks said it's his version of education triage. "I was in Haiti two weeks ago, and when they treated earthquake victims, the ones with severe head injuries and those with crushed legs were treated first and those with scratches on their faces had to wait," Meeks said. "We have to begin somewhere, and we should begin by treating those students who are in the worst public schools. Parents shouldn't have to see their kids locked into a lifetime of failure because they happen to live in a neighborhood with bad schools." My main problem with vouchers (to borrow Meeks' analogy) is that it's a Band-Aid approach to a problem that demands intensive care. You can't build enough private schools fast enough to help all the children in need. And no one has ever put forth a plan to do that. Vouchers sound good. They don't cost any additional money. And, yes, some children would obviously benefit. More than likely they would be the ones who care about education, who are already the top performers in their failing schools and whose parents care enough to get them out. Left behind would be all the children who need the most help. And they will be in bad schools that have even fewer state dollars. But the fight to make public schools better in urban areas such as Chicago (and even some south suburbs) has been lost. Democratic Party leaders, often supported by teacher unions, give lip service to change during their campaigns but do nothing. Republicans, who usually live in communities where the public schools are good and well-funded by the property tax, are content with the system as is. Meeks just wants to get something done to make life better for the people who live in his Senate district. When I heard Meeks was backing school vouchers, I thought of calling the sources I had worked with for 20 years in the school funding reform movement for a reaction. These were the folks who would always tell me, "You can't give up the fight." I suddenly realized they're all dead. Meeks has led school reform demonstrations, made speeches, written newspaper articles and even persuaded the Senate to pass a tax hike last year. He apparently has come to the conclusion that the fight is a lost cause. I remember a movie where Mr. Smith shouted to Congress that those causes were the only ones worth fighting for. That was Hollywood, of course. This is Illinois. |
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