While presidential candidate Joe Biden has come out against charter schools, Catholics who support school choice programs, which have helped to bolster Catholic and similar private institutions, may have to consider whether that issue will decide their vote.
Biden has said he is against for-profit charter schools -- even those that were made an important part of President Barack Obama’s education initiatives, according to an op-ed published by The Hill. In serving historically marginalized communities, charters “do perform slightly better in urban areas," according to researcher Matthew Di Carlo, who is quoted in The Hill opinion piece.
Dr. Daniel Wechter, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in high-risk pregnancies, practicing in Saginaw, told the Tri-City Sun that all 12 of his children went to Catholic schools from elementary all the way through high school.
Former Vice President Joe Biden
| stock photo
He said that Catholic schools are an important option for parents to have. “I think the Catholic schools do a really good job teaching the kids, first of all,” he told the Tri-City Sun.
His children, having graduated from Catholic schools, went on to be doctors and nurses, earn masters degrees in math and music, become business leaders or, in one case, a counselor of troubled youths, he told the Tri-City Sun.
“They do a lot of good stuff, you know, and they got a good education,” he told the Tri-City Sun.
Even when they do the same job as public schools, Catholic schools tend to do that at a higher value than traditional public schools, Wechter said.
When it comes to how this issue would affect his potential vote, Wechter said he would not support someone who was against school choice, unless the only alternative candidate had the same view. However, some other issues could take precedent for him, such as which candidate has the most pro-life record.
“I would never vote for somebody who supported Catholic school education, if there are other more important issues, like the pro-life issue,” he told the Tri-City Sun.
Alerts Sign-up