This archive article is selected from The Cleveland Pages , the city's only weekly independent journal of politics and opinion on the Internet. Find out all about the Cleveland Pages here, or check out the current issue . Previously, I've complained here that the Cleveland school voucher program was failing for a lack of participation by the families who could most benefit. An updated look now shows that, at least at my kid's school, the voucher idea is catching on. In the first year of vouchers, we were surprised to find out that our income was low enough to qualify.
Fewer families qualify, but a lot more are actually taking the vouchers.
The modern urban reality is that a good number of white families in the city can pay for private schools or move to a suburb with fewer problems. Fewer nonwhite families, including Latinos, can do either. While that's not unimaginable with Mike White's new leadership, it's also far from assured. Parents right now can't afford to wait and see. And it still won't happen until more whites let go of their poorly hidden racial fears and prejudices.