School Officials Point to New Choice Laws : Education: Changes achieve Prop. 174 goals without drawbacks, they say. Others call measures insignificant.

Ventura County school officials say two new state laws promoting school choice achieve the goals of Proposition 174 without the financial drawbacks, but backers of the voucher plan say the laws are of little significance.

The new laws, which go into effect in January, grant parents the right to select a public school for their child. That includes choosing from among schools in a home district or transferring to another district.

“I think that kind of healthy competition is good,” said Jerry Gross, superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. “In many ways, our country is based on that. But it has to be a level playing field.”

In contrast, the voucher plan would allow parents also to choose from private schools. Under the initiative, parents would be given a tax-supported voucher to pay for private school tuition or to redeem at a public school of their choice.

Because only private schools could deny students admission, voucher foes say the system would devastate public schools by draining their coffers while leaving them with students considered the hardest to educate.

But voucher backers say the state laws passed in July only serve to prove that public schools will not get better unless they are forced to.

Restrictions on the new school choice laws make them largely symbolic, a means to obscure debate over the statewide November ballot measure, said Bill Westmiller, a spokesman for Ventura County’s “Yes on 174” campaign.

“The teachers’ union has been opposing bills like this for the past five years,” said Westmiller, a Thousand Oaks parent of three daughters who attend public elementary school. “The only reason they decided to work out a deal is because of 174.”

The law permitting interdistrict transfers allows school districts with 50,000 or more students to limit the number of students who leave to 1% of the total population. For districts smaller than 50,000, the cap is 3%.

The intradistrict transfer law requires school districts to open enrollment for all students to all schools as space permits. However, both laws give first priority to students who live within school boundaries.

Transfers must be random, without regard to academic or athletic skills and must not upset court-ordered desegregation plans. Districts must begin advertising the policies in January.

The changes do not represent meaningful reform, said Mat Higbee, central coast coordinator for the pro-voucher Proposition 174 campaign.

“It’s bait and switch,” Higbee said. “They talk about choice, but when a real choice is offered they say, ‘No, look over here.’ ”

Educators say that the legislation could be groundbreaking if school boards allow it to be. Public school officials should view choice among and between districts as a way to regain the trust of disenfranchised parents, said Charles Weis, Ventura County superintendent of schools.

“My personal opinion is that public educators need to realize why these kinds of bills are passing,” said Ventura County Supt. of Schools Charles Weis. “A significant number of people feel their needs aren’t being met.”

School leaders need to begin thinking about parents and students as customers, and empowering parents with choices could stimulate that kind of thinking among educators, Weis said.

“You don’t run a business by trying to appeal to most people,” Weis said. “You go after every available customer.”

Most Ventura County schools already have liberal intradistrict transfer policies in place, but many parents do not know it, said Simi Valley Unified School District Supt. Mary Beth Wolford.

“What will change for us is probably the level of communication with parents about what is available to them,” Wolford said.

In addition, most districts are studying the potential effects of the new interdistrict law to see if they stand to lose or gain students and whether they have space to accept out-of-district transfers, said Joe Richards, Ventura Unified School District assistant superintendent.

“I guess whether it’s meaningful reform will depend on how people respond when it’s implemented,” Richards said.