Lone Dem lawmaker champions failed GOP school voucher bill
Mainor, GOP lawmakers talk school choice at press conference
State Rep. Mesha Mainor, an Atlanta Democrat who has garnered both praise and criticism for breaking with her party on major votes, stood shoulder to shoulder with two of her Republican colleagues on Thursday to discuss the issue of school choice. They were joined by dozens of supporters, some of whom drove several hours to attend the event.
Mainor was the only Democratic lawmaker to support Senate Bill 233, which would offer families a $6,000 voucher to attend a private school. The bill failed on the last day of session after several Republicans joined with Democrats to vote against it.
But Mainor continues to stand by her vote. She has appeared on Fox News and has been featured on right-leaning blogs. Thursday’s press conference was her first time facing questions in a public setting since the vote.
She began the press conference by expressing confusion as to how school choice became a partisan issue. “Education should not be partisan,” she said. “Education should be a value that every child deserves.”
Mainor was joined by two Republican lawmakers. State Rep. Reynaldo “Ray” Martinez (R-Loganville) and State Rep. Lauren Daniel (R-Locust Grove) both said that they have enjoyed working alongside Mainor.
“She’s got convictions, she’s got faith, she’s got beliefs, and she has values,” Martinez said of Mainor. “That’s why I’m here to stand beside her.” He also appeared to attack State Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat who pledged to donate $1,000 to Mainor’s opponent in next year’s Democratic primary.
“I wonder if this Senator has kids that are going to an underperforming school,” Martinez asked without ever naming McLaurin, before emphasizing the Democrat’s background as an attorney and a Yale Law School graduate. “I’m sure his parents are very proud of him. But you know what? Not everybody has that opportunity.”
Rep. Daniel said every public school in her district is falling behind and that every child deserves the opportunity to attend a school that best fits their needs. She cited a recent stabbing incident at Ola Middle School.
“As a parent, you cannot tell me that if your child is failing in reading, failing in math, having to go to summer school, and then there is violence in their schools, that you would not want the opportunity to send them elsewhere,” Daniel said.
The lawmakers then took questions from reporters. When asked if she has given thought to switching parties, Mainor said that education is a value that her party just happens to have gotten wrong.
At one point, Mainor said that she has Democratic colleagues who quietly supported 233 but voted against it out of fear of political backlash like the kind she has received. She would not name any of those Democrats, but she said they supported it because they do not have any children of their own, and are therefore not impacted by the issue.
A question was also asked about where the money would come from. Martinez argued that his Republican colleagues are not pitting private schools against public schools, noting the $2,000 pay raise for public school teachers in this year’s budget.
He also addressed concerns that the $6,000 voucher does not cover the entire cost of tuition (average private school tuition is roughly $12,000). “Maybe you can cut back on coffee, maybe you want to work a little more to fulfill that tuition. But you know what, $6,000 is not a bad thing,” he said. “That’s a helping hand. There’s nothing wrong with a helping hand.”
Daniel later told me that she understands concerns that the voucher might not be enough for some families, though she didn’t elaborate on how they can cover the rest of the tuition. She did, however, say that the voucher could be used to home school students. “How many parents would be willing to stay home with their child if they could afford the materials that that would take,” she asked.
Mainor was also pressed on recent remarks saying that her party is prioritizing southern immigrants over Black communities. She responded by saying that Hispanic and Latino immigrants are more likely to be placed in underperforming schools when they arrive in areas like the ones she represents. “Children are important. Let’s not put them in a situation where they are set up to fail,” she said. “I don’t think the [immigrant] families that came here are looking for their child to fail.”
The issue is expected to come up again when the lawmakers return to the Gold Dome in January.