[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TWO PHILANTHROPISTS TO EXPAND PRIVATE SCHOOL GRANTS IN CITIES

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                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 10, 1998

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, the attached article from The Washington 
Post illustrates the frustration across the country over the 
performance of public schools. Theodore J. Forstmann and John Walton 
are two of the latest in a series of philanthropists to put up their 
own money in an effort to send low-income students to private schools. 
I submit the article to the Congressional Record.

                       [From the Washington Post]

     Two Philanthropists to Expand Private School Grants to Cities

                          (By Linda Perlstein)

       Two wealthy industrialists announced plans yesterday to 
     give 50,000 needy children scholarships that would allow them 
     to abandon public schools in favor of private ones. The $200 
     million initiative, which would be the largest of its kind, 
     is the latest in a series of efforts by private 
     philanthropists frustrated with the performance of public 
     education.
       Wall Street financier Theodore J. Forstmann and Wal-Mart 
     heir John Walton will put up $100 million of the money and 
     will raise the rest from other philanthropists and community 
     groups around the country. The two men say they have lined up 
     $19.4 million in pledges in five cities, including 
     Washington, and are seeking $80 million more by summer's end.
       Public schools are a monopoly, Forstmann said, ``monopolies 
     produce bad products at high prices. Eventually, if there's 
     no competition, nothing works very well.''
       Attempts to use taxpayer dollars to send children to 
     private schools have hit roadblocks both in Congress and in 
     the courts. Last month, President Clinton, who opposes 
     publicly funded vouchers, vetoed a bill that would have given 
     District students $7 million to attend private schools.
       As a result, donors are moving forward with projects. Last 
     year, philanthropist Virginia Gilder offered $2,000 each for 
     students at an Albany, N.Y., primary school to attend private 
     school. In April, a group of San Antonio business leaders put 
     up $50 million to send 13,000 low-income students to private 
     schools.
       The plans announced yesterday by Forstmann and Walton would 
     expand a scholarship initiative the two contributed to last 
     year in Washington and New York. Already, 1,000 District 
     students are offered scholarships through the program. The 
     new initiative, called the Children's Scholarship Fund, will 
     finance 400 more.
       In Washington and other cities where the two hope to start 
     the program, $1,000 scholarships will be offered to 
     elementary and high school students whose family income falls 
     below a certain level--typically $18,000. They estimate that 
     the money will cover about half of the annual tuition costs 
     in most cities, with the children's parents committing to 
     make up the balance. Students will be selected by lotteries 
     in 1999.
       In addition to Washington, the fund has lined up partners 
     in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Jersey City, where 
     Mayor Bret Schundler has chipped in $25,000 of his own money.
       Forstmann's supporters include many who oppose publicly 
     funded vouchers. A White House spokesman, Barry Toiv, said 
     that President Clinton supports the effort but still firmly 
     opposes using public money for school voucher programs.
       ``They are in a position to help kids, and the president 
     thinks that's great,'' Toiv said. ``But the question of how 
     we invest our public resources is an entirely different one. 
     The president thinks that money has to remain in public 
     education.''
       Even the heads of the two largest teachers unions said they 
     do not object to private citizens giving scholarships. ``I 
     have no problem with what is basically a private act of 
     philantropy,'' said Sandra Feldman, president of the American 
     Federation of Teachers. But ``if the idea is that public 
     schools don't work and children must escape, I would oppose 
     that,'' she said.

     

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