The rally, which is expected to draw between 10,000 and 15,000 school choice supporters, isbeing 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 tospeak at the rally, including: Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former U.S. EducationSecretary 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 ourchildren. That's why we are working hard to put together a huge grassroots army ofDemocrats and Republicans who are ready to show New Jersey and the rest of the nation thatthe time for school choice is now," said Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler.
The Jersey City `Schoolchildren First' Education Act will create a carefully crafted andmonitored public/private school choice program for all 40,000 of the city's students. It willallow parents and teachers to establish publicly funded, state-chartered schools which willoperate independently of the local school district bureaucracy and will also provide EducationOpportunity Grants, or vouchers, worth a minimum of $900 to parents who choose to sendtheir children to privately managed schools.
Formal legislation will be introduced in the New Jersey Assembly this fall. The prospects forpassage this year are promising because both Governor Whitman and many state legislativeleaders support Jersey City's efforts to implement the pilot program. A recent poll conductedby an independent news organization also found that over 60% of New Jersey residentssupport school choice for Jersey City.
"With the support of the Governor and the leaders of the New Jersey Legislature, this bill canbe signed into law by the end of the year. If our legislation passes and is successful, it couldbreak 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 thestate's powerful teachers' union, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), which haspromised to vigorously oppose any attempt to improve Jersey City's embattled school systemby 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 JerseyLegislature 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 makingsubstantial financial contributions to help pass the Jersey City `Schoolchildren First'Education Act. .