President Barack Obama Terminates Washington D.C.'s "Opportunity Scholarship Program," Which Allowed Poor Black Kids to Attend Better Schools

It's not often that I agree with the views expressed by Fox News, but this time I have to say, I agree with Juan Williams' assessment and anger over President Obama's decision to terminate Washington D.C.'s "Opportunity Scholarship Program," which would have allowed poor black children to attend the same distinguished schools as his two daughters. He called his decision one based on having greater choice in education. He basically capitulated to the school unions and has killed any efforts to allow parents to shop for better schools for their tax dollars. President Obama is slowly going back on some of his key campaign promises.

Writing in his Fox News blog, Williams, who recently called for ending the private ownership of all guns, blasted Obama for doing the bidding of school unions and cutting off any efforts to allow parents to “shop” for better schools with their tax dollars.

“As I watch Washington politics I am not easily given to rage,” Williams writes.“But over the last week I find myself in a fury.”

“The cause of my upset is watching the key civil rights issue of this generation — improving big city public school education — get tossed overboard by political gamesmanship. If there is one goal that deserves to be held above day-to-day partisanship and pettiness of ordinary politics it is the effort to end the scandalous poor level of academic achievement and abysmally high drop-out rates for America’s black and Hispanic students,” said Williams.

Williams cites that not only did the program not drain tax money from D.C. public schools, but it improved the test scores of black and Hispanic children who otherwise likely would have failed. The program was so popular and demand for scholarships so high, recipients had to be determined by lottery.

But Obama then terminated the very “hope” he promised to bring, because school unions told him to. So much for ending “politics as usual.”

“This reckless dismantling of the D.C. voucher program does not bode well for arguments to come about standards in the effort to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. It does not speak well of the promise of President Obama to be the “Education President,’ who once seemed primed to stand up for all children who want to learn and especially minority children,” he continues. “And its time for all of us to get outraged about this sin against our children,” Williams concludes. Source: Fox News Forum

I agree with Juan Williams because education “the key civil rights issue of this generation.” I fully embrace choices in education and I support giving parents the ability to pick the best schools for their children by using their tax dollars or through scholarships. In case the President hasn't noticed, he went to the best schools and got a first-rate education, all the way to college, so why would he go back on a campaign promise that was so central to his candidacy? There must be greater choices for parents in the education marketplace.

As a parent, I want the best education I can get for my two children and I am sure, many parents in Washington D.C. want the same things for their children -- a better life through a solid eduction. The government-run schools in D. C. are living proof that the one-size-fits-all mentality harms our children. The crime and drop-out rates are higher than graduation rates in these public schools. You don't empower the kids by taking away a program to help them, while you throw billions of dollars at mismanaged companies such as General Motors and Chrysler, or even bail out banks that have little interest in loaning money to Main Street. Come on President Obama, shame on you!