Catholic schools seek extra federal aid in Washington, D.C.Officials with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the District of Columbia and Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and Saint Mary's counties in the state of Maryland. , D.C., say they are having trouble implementing the city's new federally funded voucher A receipt or release which provides evidence of payment or other discharge of a debt, often for purposes of reimbursement, or attests to the accuracy of the accounts. plan and need more tax aid. Congress approved the plan, the nation's first federally funded voucher program, earlier this year, and President George W. Bush signed the bill into law. The $65-million program will last five years. Under its provisions, 1,700 low-income students in the nation's capital could receive vouchers worth up to $7,500 apiece a·piece adv. To or for each one; each: There is enough bread for everyone to have two slices apiece. [Middle English a pece : a, a; see a . Although the archdiocese arch·di·o·cese n. The district under an archbishop's jurisdiction. arch  di·oc is not administering the program, it runs
28 Catholic schools in Washington that are expected to receive the bulk
of the money. Church officials say they need at least $2 million to get
the schools ready for the voucher students.
Federal officials seem unwilling to help. Nina Shokraii Rees, a former staffer at the Heritage Foundation who is overseeing the voucher program for the U.S. Department of Education, urged the church to stop looking to the government for relief. "The archdiocese needs to raise private money to make up the difference," Rees told The Washington Post. "Whatever they charge the students to participate in this program cannot be different from the customary tuition For tuition fees in the United Kingdom, see . Tuition means instruction, teaching or a fee charged for educational instruction especially at a formal institution of learning or by a private tutor usually in the form of one-to-one tuition. and fees they charge their other students." The archdiocese has also been unclear about how many voucher students it can take in September. Church officials originally put the figure at 1,200 but now say 600 to 700 is more likely. Meanwhile, many D.C. residents appear wary of the plan. As the May deadline for applying approached, only about 1,100 households had turned in applications on behalf of about 2,000 children, The Post reported. The number was expected to be much higher. When the plan was first announced, D.C. officials compiled a list of 4,000 households, representing an estimated 8,500 students, who inquired about vouchers. Many of those who inquired never applied. One parent told The Post she doesn't believe the plan will deliver. Mary Jackson For the Canadian medical doctor, see Dr. Mary Percy Jackson. Mary Jackson (November 22, 1910 – December 10, 2005) was an American actress. She is best known for the role of the lovelorn "Miss Emily Baldwin" in The Waltons and was the original choice to play "Alice told the newspaper she worries that the private schools will charge additional fees or expel ex·pel tr.v. ex·pelled, ex·pel·ling, ex·pels 1. To force or drive out: expel an invader. 2. voucher children at the first opportunity. "It's a big hoax Hoax Balloon Hoax, The news story in 1844, reporting the transatlantic crossing of a balloon with eight passengers. [Am. Lit.: The Balloon Hoax in Poe] Piltdown man missing link turned out to be orangutan. [Br. Hist. ," said Jackson, whose two children attend Fletcher-Johnson Educational Center, a public school listed as failing. "It's a bunch of hot air. I'll find a better public school to send my kids before I get a voucher." |
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