To James about school choice.

Look James, we already have school choice. There are lots of schools. Most people consider the local schools when they move into a community. They move close to a public school they think will be good for their children or perhaps near a private school that they would prefer.

If you talk to people whose children are in public schools about their schools, most are satisfied that their child is getting adequate opportunity to learn. They are rarely happy with everything, but they are generally okay with what is offered for their student. I've been in a lot of parent teacher conferences and it is usually clear to everyone that failing students have made a choice to fail. Parents and teachers have tried everything and nothing will motivate the students.

To give more choices, many systems have a variety of special schools: charter schools, magnet schools, international baccalaureate schools, fine arts schools, etc.

Why then are there any private schools? I wonder. As a teacher, here is what I've seen. Often children are moved because there grades are low or failing. Maybe a change will help. They are moved because they are associating with the "wrong" crowd. (Usually a drug or alcohol problem, or pregnancy). The are depressed and need couselling. They move to participate in outstanding athletic or fine arts programs when they are dissatisfied with those programs at their own schools.

There are some people who never come in the door of public schools. They have their own issues. Executives don't want their children growing up with the children of their employees. Affluent employees want their children going to school with the bosses children. The deeply religious, Hebrews, Mennonites, Roman Catholics, et al, have historically insisted on religious education as a part of students' daily routine.

Just a generation ago, the supreme court gave an enormous boost to private schools with its decision in the case Brown vs. the Board of Education. With the implementation of this decision, conservatives across the southeast withdrew their children from public school and created a dual system of black and white schools across the south. I remember asking about the schools in Montezuma, Georgia, back in 1975, when I interviewed for a job there. I was told there was an excellent private school that my children could attend. The public schools were all black. (I remember going to the public pool in Folkston, Georgia as a child. One year we could not go anymore. Once they were forced to admit black children, Folkston simply closed the pool.) Across the south, the support of the white community was withdrawn from public schools. All those thousands of dollars in fund raisers evaporated. All the corporate donations stopped.

We could go on with the history and changes, but this is the origin of the majority of the private schools in the southern states. With the change in Republican Party that have come to include these same people as a part of their coalition, school vouchers and school choice became issues. The issue was originally race and it is still race. They want to remove their children from the influence and even the presence of black and hispanic children. Furthermore, they don't want their tax dollars to support public school. They feel no debt to provide public education for all. Instead, they want the government to mandate through taxation relief, a way for them to pay for private (usually completely segregated) school for their children. This is the core issue. No matter how many other righteous complaints you may bring together. The central issue is race, fear of black and hispanic children, or children who speak foreign languages. Dress it in any costume that you want, but I was in school in the 60's and saw the changes. I remember those first 4 black students and how we stood and looked at them. Wow. Black people. I had no idea where they lived. Today that school is 100% minority: black, asian, hispanic. White students either went to private schools or moved to districts with few black children.

Why does Carter think that school vouchers are a race issue? Because they are.