Harrisburg+Rally+for+Vouchers

=Students join rally for school vouchers at Capitol= = =

=By Tracie Mauriello= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//Tuesday, April 12, 2011//=

=HARRISBURG -- Several hundred students, parents and teachers converged on the Capitol steps this afternoon to help give a final push to a school voucher bill that could come to a Senate vote as soon as this afternoon.= =Some wearing Catholic school uniforms, others wearing "School Choice" T-shirts, the young activists carried signs with slogans such as "Don't be a sloucher. Give us our vouchers."= =All were lobbying for a bill that would provide public money for tuition at private schools or public ones outside districts where students reside.= =Vouchers initially would be available to low-income students in poorly performing schools. Eligibility would expand over four years to include students at all schools and from higher income families.= =Funding for the vouchers would come from per-pupil state funding now being sent to public schools.= =Most children at the rally already attend private schools.= ="A lot of us are struggling to pay, and vouchers would really help," said Gina Iacoboni, an eighth grader at St. Sebastian Regional School in Belle Vernon.= =Classmate Lydia Perozzi said everyone should have the same education choices she's had, regardless of income.= =Dilmert Delorbe, a sixth-grader at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in West Philadelphia, was among the most fervent activists at the rally.= ="My parents work a lot of hours for me to get a good education, and I want some of the money they pay for taxes to be used for my education," he said.= =Voucher opponents say public money shouldn't go to religious schools and fear the loss of funding will cause public schools to struggle to pay teachers, maintain buildings and pay utility bills.= =Parents at the rally said they've long paid taxes to fund public schools even though they don't send their children to them. To them, vouchers bring fairness.= ="I think we pay enough taxes that they should be able to make the public schools work" even with the voucher program in place, said Ray Iacoboni, Gina's father.= =Dawn Chavos, executive director of Students First, said voucher proponents aren't against public schools.= ="We support public education. This isn't about public vs. private," she said. "We support quality education. This is about having the best options possible."= =The rally was sponsored by a consortium of pro-school choice groups.= =Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tracie Mauriello: 717-787-2141 or tmauriello@post-gazette.com= = = =Read more: [] = = = = = = = = = = = =News= =home=