CAMDEN - For years, most of Camden's public school students have had little alternative to their troubled school system.
But last night, City Council began a campaign to look at tuition vouchers as an option for some of the city's 18,000 schoolchildren. It unanimously approved a resolution asking the legislature to implement a parental-choice program in Camden. Backed by Excellence in Education for Everyone, a Newark-based group that supports vouchers, the resolution proposes that $6,000 vouchers be offered to public school students who want to enroll in participating private schools.

Camden is believed to be the first municipality in the Northeast to endorse public funding for tuition vouchers, said Dan Gaby, the group's executive director.

Any voucher movement faces an uphill battle in New Jersey. Gov. McGreevey opposes vouchers, and the legislature has not shown a willingness to back them. Proponents, however, said the Council vote was a big step in their attempt to offer options to public school students.

"As poor parents, we've been forced to send our children to failing schools," said Camden resident Angel Cordero, a coordinator for Excellence in Education for Everyone. "We don't have any choices."

Camden has several charter schools, but space is limited, leaving few options for families unable to afford private or parochial schools.

Dwaine J. Williams, a school board member, said tuition vouchers would hurt the district because the voucher payments would be deducted from the district's state aid.

"It would basically leave public schools in worse shape than they are," he said. "It's just ridiculous."

Steve Wollmer, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, dismissed the resolution as a "public-relations stunt." The association, which is the state's largest teachers' union, and the New Jersey School Boards Association oppose vouchers.

"They're looking to get a toehold anywhere, even if it's just a meaningless resolution," Wollmer said.

Voucher backers believe that last month's landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that tuition vouchers are constitutional will help their cause. The ruling cleared the way for taxpayer money to underwrite tuition at private or parochial schools.

The three-year-old Excellence in Education for Everyone is targeting Camden and the state's 29 other Abbott - or special-needs - districts, which include Burlington City, Gloucester City and Pemberton Township. The group also supports charter schools and tax credits.

"We feel that the missing piece in Abbott districts is that parents have no choice," said Peter Denton, the group's founder.

Contact Melanie Burney at 856-779-3876 or [email protected].