South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford, an African-American lawmaker from Charleston, supports a bill that would give students a tuition credit to attend private schools. He says minority students would benefit most from the proposal.
In response to critics who say the voucher-type system would hurt public schools, Ford had this to say:
?You’re damn right I’m hurting public education, because public education is hurting our kids.”
The Charlotte Observer goes on to report:
Up to last year, Ford opposed spending public dollars to pay for private school.
But South Carolina’s stubborn achievement gap ? with black students trailing their white counterparts in state achievement testing, college entrance exam scores and graduation rates ? changed his mind, he says.
?All of us have been defending the system,? Ford said. ?It’s time to stop. I’m not pussyfooting with this anymore.?
Ford contends no African American parent with financial means sends his or her child to a failing school. Poor and middle-class children should have the same set of choices, Ford said.
