Come & Take It Live
Surprised to Find Us Opposed to Vouchers
RECEIVED Thu., Jan. 18, 2007
Dear Editor,
I was surprised to find your opposing stand for vouchers in Texas [“Post-Election Coverage,” News, Nov. 24, 2006] and making it seem as giving public funds to private schools when in fact the choice of how these funds are spent should be with who provides these funds to begin with, the residents of Texas. This is not about taking away or giving; it is about having choices and finally putting some pressure on the public school system by adding some competition and making them accountable for the results, which has not been happening lately. I invite you to familiarize yourself a little more on the voucher proposal and its benefits (www.hcreo.org) and move away from the rhetoric that has plagued this topic. One thing that I find interesting is that you are in favor of stem-cell research and yet consider vouchers an "experiment.” I believe that opening his mind to new ideas is the only way for Gov. Perry to lead Texas forward to a brighter future.
I was surprised to find your opposing stand for vouchers in Texas [“Post-Election Coverage,” News, Nov. 24, 2006] and making it seem as giving public funds to private schools when in fact the choice of how these funds are spent should be with who provides these funds to begin with, the residents of Texas. This is not about taking away or giving; it is about having choices and finally putting some pressure on the public school system by adding some competition and making them accountable for the results, which has not been happening lately. I invite you to familiarize yourself a little more on the voucher proposal and its benefits (www.hcreo.org) and move away from the rhetoric that has plagued this topic. One thing that I find interesting is that you are in favor of stem-cell research and yet consider vouchers an "experiment.” I believe that opening his mind to new ideas is the only way for Gov. Perry to lead Texas forward to a brighter future.
Alejandro Alonso
[Editor's note: "H-CREO," the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, is a D.C.-based pro-voucher organization lobbying for taxpayer funding of private schools, especially religious private schools. According to an April 29, 2005, article in the Texas Observer, "H-CREO receives much of its funding from right-wing pro-voucher groups such as the Walton Family Foundation of Wal-Mart fame and (James) Leininger's own pro-voucher political action committee, Children First America." Leininger associate Robert Aguirre is chairman of the H-CREO board of trustees. H-CREO has scheduled a pro-voucher rally at the Capitol for Feb. 7.]
