PAWTUCKET — As a single, recently unemployed mother of two, Leslie Beatty wants to be able to continue sending her children to Catholic school.
At the beginning of the 2013 academic school year, she began paying the $11,250 tuition to send her son, Kenneth, 14, a freshman at St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, adding to the $3,995 she also pays for her daughter, Claire, 10, a fifth grader at Woodlawn Catholic Regional School, also in Pawtucket.
On her annual income, she said, especially in light of her recent layoff, it’s not easy.
That’s why she’s in support of Rhode Island School Choice, an initiative that would give parents the freedom to choose a school that best meets the needs of their children, as well as provide financial vouchers to help. The vouchers would be available not only for parents who wish to send their children to Catholic school, but also public, charter, private, or home schools.
“I have gotten some assistance from the Diocese of Providence for both of my children, but a large portion of it still falls on my shoulders,” said Beatty, who receives $650 from the Francis Ward Fund for Claire, and $4,000 from the Education State Tax Credit Program for Kenneth, per academic year. “If parents are homeowners, then they are taxpayers. We pay taxes for the public schools, so to be able to use some of that money to decide for ourselves where we want our children to go is the most important part of the program.” Beatty, a Pawtucket resident, attended a rally at the State House in June to support the Parental Choice Scholarship Program Act before the House Committee on Finance. While the bill, which was introduced by Representatives Elaine Coderre (D-Pawtucket) and Arthur Corvese (D-North Providence), would permit parents to use some of the public funds set aside for education to send their children to the school of their choice, it did not advance. It is anticipated that legislators will revamp the bill and resubmit it in 2014.
Still, there are other efforts being made to promote the initiative.
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, in conjunction with the Rhode Island Families for School Choice, is hosting an introductory School Choice Boot Camp Monday, Dec. 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Hilton Providence, 21 Atwells Ave., in Providence.
The event, which is open to the public, aims to create more awareness about School Choice Rhode Island. Dinner and parking will be provided.
“We’re in the process of formulating a board [and] and we’re seeking and recruiting members of the community to help us with this initiative,” said Bob Coderre, the interim director of Rhode Island Families for School Choice, as well as a single parent of three. Rep. Coderre is his mother. “The Boot Camp is going to be a way for us to recruit parents of public and private school kids that feel like they don’t have a choice.”
Among the efforts the group intends to pursue is to increase the cap on the Scholarship Tax Credit, which is currently $1.5 million statewide.
“Our goal is to continue to increase that, but also have a bill with school vouchers so we can once and for all have money that actually follows the child,” Coderre said.
According to the “Rhode Island K-12 and School Choice Survey” recently released by the Friedman Foundation, in cooperation with the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, 56 percent of Rhode Island voters favor vouchers. That’s good news for Beatty, as well as other people who share her opinion.
St. Raphael Principal, Dan Richard, along with the high school’s admissions director, Shawn McKay, view the initiative as reasonable for families that are looking to send their children to a different school.
“They pay into the local income taxes and they should at least have a say in where there child goes,” Richard said. “They have every right to expect some type of financial support from it; they are paying into the system. It’s not like they are trying to get something for free.”
McKay feels the same. He said St. Raphael is forced to turn students away each year.
“They have the academic ability, the drive and the resume, but they just don’t have the means,” McKay said.
Richard added that students are penalized by the system in its current state as it often costs more per pupil for a child to attend a majority of the public schools in Rhode Island.
“[The students’ families] are still paying the money for their taxes, but they are not given the opportunity to go to the school that they choose.”
Woodlawn Regional Principal Veronica Procopio shares similar sentiments. She has also witnessed local parents struggle to offer their children the type of education they desire, including Beatty.
“She represents the hard-working families of our community,” said Procopio, who noted that Beatty used to work at the school full-time as her administrative assistant, but was recently laid off. “She strongly believes in Catholic education [and] has made tremendous sacrifices to keep her children in Catholic schools. This is a wonderful opportunity for her to receive some financial relief.”
For Kenneth and Claire, being at their respective schools makes them happy. They don’t want to go anywhere else.
While Claire likes her teacher and classmates, Kenneth said he enjoys “the adversity of the school, and the uniqueness of the student body. You can be yourself. People accept you for you. You don’t have to be afraid of being judged. If kids get the best education they can, it will help them along the road into the future.”
To attend the Boot Camp, R.S.V.P. to Michael Chartier, director of State Programs of the Freidman Foundation, at michael@EdChoice.org. Dinner and parking at the Hilton Providence will be provided. To learn more about School Choice, visit EdChoice.org.
