________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT February 23, 2004 Vol. 4, No. 09 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence. Libby Sternberg, executive director: VTBetterEd@aol.com NEWS & ANALYSIS... FATE UNCERTAIN FOR SCHOOL CHOICE BILL The public school choice bill supported by the governor continues to hang on the wall and in the balance in the House Education Committee. If a committee vote were to be taken on it, however, chances are it would be voted down with the following Representatives still not in favor of moving it forward: House Education Committee Vice Chairman George Cross (D-Winooski) Ph: 802-655-4611 82 Dufresne Drive, Winooski 05404 Rep. William Aswad (D-Burlington) Ph: 802-862-2067 74 Ridgewood Drive, Burlington 05401 Rep. Harry Chen (D-Mendon) hchen@leg.state.vt.us Ph: 802-775-1695 (h) or 802-747-6216 (w) 7 North Road, Mendon 05701 Rep. Stephen Hingtgen (P-Burlington) shingtgen@leg.state.vt.us Ph: 802-355-6853 PO Box 8401, Burlington 05402 Rep. Rosemary McLaughlin (D-S. Royalton) rmclaughlin@leg.state.vt.us or rozo@valley.net  Ph: 802-763-5262 273 Rousseau Road, South Royalton 05068 Rep. Ann Seibert (D-Norwich) Ph: 802-649-1282 Fx: 802-649-3086 386 Main Street, Norwich 05055  REP. CHEN'S RESPONSE TO SCHOOL CHOICE SUPPORTERS Several readers who contacted Rep. Harry Chen (D-Mendon) about the bill received the following response from him: "The House Education committee heard considerable testimony regarding the issue of school choice. While many of the personal stories are moving, there is no compelling evidence that school choice improves student performance or reduces costs. It's hard to argue with the concept of choice, but its implementation is challenging in a rural system such as Vermont with regards to special education, transportation and small schools. Act 150 instituted a pilot choice program in grades 9-12 that is in its third year. A provision of Act 150 calls for a major study due January 2005 to answer some of the important questions and guide further legislative actions. A majority of the House Education committee feel that it is important to complete the Act 150 report prior to any changes in our school choice law. Add to this our new way to fund education, discussion on school district size and governance and efforts to contain costs, I believe it premature to move forward. I do agree that it is an issue to revisit next year with a goal of expanding school choice in an incremental fashion." Chen's response illustrates the need for a vote on this issue at some point. Although he seems to agree that "expanding" choice is a good idea, he recites the usual excuses against moving forward.  The public school choice bill under consideration is no radical change. It includes only public schools, after all. In addition, committee members could have voted to change the bill to address any concerns that arose during discussion.  OTHER LEADERS TO CONTACT Readers who want to let legislators know how important school choice is to them might consider contacting leaders of the House. They include: Speaker of the House Walter Freed (speaker@leg.state.vt.us) Rep. Connie Houston (R-Vergennes) - House Majority leader Chouston@leg.state.vt.us Rep. Richard Hube (R- S. Londonderry) - House Assistant Majority Leader Huberick@sover.net Rep. Gaye Symington (D-Jericho) - House Minority Leader gsymington@leg.state.vt.us  Rep. Carolyn Partridge (D- Windham) - House Assistant Minority Leader cpartridge@leg.state.vt.us or hoparwel@sover.net  ON THE COMMITTEE AGENDAS THIS WEEK The House Education Committee will again hear about "childhood wellness" issues as well as students serving on school boards, tech ed funding and school budget votes this week.  In the Senate, the Education Committee continues its look at S. 166, the early education bill, with Commissioner of Education Richard Cate testifying.  *   *   * The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact VTBetterEd@aol.com for more information.   Subscribe Here SubscribeRemove

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