Austin, Texas, May 19, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The Catholic bishops of Texas launched a statewide effort, urging lawmakers to vote for an expanded school voucher program.
The House education committee passed a voucher proposal Wednesday for a 12-year $69-million pilot program, authored by Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving). It has been sent to the House, where it must be considered before the session ends May 30.
Last week, as part of the statewide effort, Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio wrote to a number of Bexar County lawmakers, some of them Catholic.
“I wish to express my personal expectation for your official support of a program that will concentrate its benefits on urban, at-risk children; a program that would make educational opportunities available to the poor, and that would strengthen the system of quality education for all,” the archbishop wrote.