School Voucher Proposal Offers a Brighter Future : Parents today face many difficulties securing high-quality education for children. One father thinks the state would be better off under Proposition 174 because the plan would broaden parents’ options.

In a few short years my wife and I will make one of the most important decisions of our lives: where to send our 2-year-old daughter to school. We are already starting to give the matter serious consideration. My own public-school education was inadequate, and now I realize how critical it is to plan ahead. And that is why I’m in favor of school choice.

Unfortunately, we are faced with a pitifully narrow range of choices. As it stands, we have two unsatisfactory options. We can send our daughter to public school or to a private school within our limited financial means.

Given the dismal academic standards of our neighborhood public schools, we have no choice but to pay twice: once in taxes for the unsatisfactory public school system and once again for the tuition we will pay at a private school.

We recognize that we are among the fortunate few parents in California who, with sacrifice, can opt out of the public school system. We know a lot of parents who are just plain stuck with public schools. Those parents’ kids will continue to face our public schools’ failure--rising dropout rates, falling S.A.T. scores and increasing violence, crime and drug usage.

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We recently read that, according to the U.S. Department of Education, California fourth-graders scored worst in the nation on reading tests (tied with Mississippi, which spends $1,000 less per pupil than California does).

So, what’s the solution for us and for parents who don’t have our options?

Proposition 174, the school choice initiative, would provide all California parents additional choices. Our tax dollars would give us the means to send our daughter to a private school--$2,600 of our taxes to be exact. If we weren’t able to find a private school that met our needs which charged $2,600 or less, we could use the $2,600 toward tuition and make up the difference out of our own pocket.

If we find a private school that charges less than the voucher (62% of all private schools in California charge $2,600 or less) the excess amount would be put in a trust account for our daughter’s college tuition.

For many parents, especially those in the inner cities where public schools are often even worse than in our area, Proposition 174 will open a new world of opportunities. They will be able to pick private schools if they want. If they choose to stay in the public schools, their kids will benefit because the public schools will have to compete with private schools.

Parents want the best for their kids. They want schools that are free from violence and are conducive to learning, schools that share their values and high academic standards. Proposition 174 gives us all a better chance to see that desire become reality.