Save Our Schoolchildren To
Organize Largest School Choice Rally In
History
To Demonstrate Grass Roots Support
For Educational Reform
Jersey City
On Sunday, October 16th, at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in Liberty State Park, a New
Jersey education reform organization called "Save Our Schoolchildren" will be sponsoring
the largest school choice rally in history.
The rally, which is expected to draw between 10,000 and 15,000 school choice supporters, is
being held to show widespread public support for The Jersey City `Schoolchildren First'
Education Act, the boldest education reform measure ever proposed in the United States.
Save Our Schoolchildren has invited the nation's most prominent school choice advocates to
speak at the rally, including: Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former U.S. Education
Secretary Lamar Alexander, and U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman and Bill Bradley.
"Our education plan for Jersey City has the potential to save our schools and save our
children. That's why we are working hard to put together a huge grassroots army of
Democrats and Republicans who are ready to show New Jersey and the rest of the nation that
the time for school choice is now," said Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler.
The Jersey City `Schoolchildren First' Education Act will create a carefully crafted and
monitored public/private school choice program for all 40,000 of the city's students. It will
allow parents and teachers to establish publicly funded, state-chartered schools which will
operate independently of the local school district bureaucracy and will also provide Education
Opportunity Grants, or vouchers, worth a minimum of $900 to parents who choose to send
their children to privately managed schools.
Formal legislation will be introduced in the New Jersey Assembly this fall. The prospects for
passage this year are promising because both Governor Whitman and many state legislative
leaders support Jersey City's efforts to implement the pilot program. A recent poll conducted
by an independent news organization also found that over 60% of New Jersey residents
support school choice for Jersey City.
"With the support of the Governor and the leaders of the New Jersey Legislature, this bill can
be signed into law by the end of the year. If our legislation passes and is successful, it could
break the dike holding back true education reform all across America," Schundler said.
The greatest obstacle to passing the Jersey City `Schoolchildren First' Education Act is the
state's powerful teachers' union, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), which has
promised to vigorously oppose any attempt to improve Jersey City's embattled school system
by expanding parental choice.
"I expect the NJEA to mount an intensive lobbying campaign against our school choice plan.
That's why it is so important that we bring together a grassroots army of parents, taxpayers,
business leaders, religious groups, and school choice advocates to show the New Jersey
Legislature that the public supports choice in education," said Mayor Schundler.
Following the rally, a fund raising gala will be held for those who are interested in making
substantial financial contributions to help pass the Jersey City `Schoolchildren First'
Education Act. .
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Hudson County, New Jersey is a place of many firsts - including genocide and slavery.
Political corruption is a tradition here.
First in a series by Anthony Olszewski – Click HERE to find out more.
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