In a sobering report last week, an Education Week showed Pennsylvania public schools were falling behind on standards.

According to the report, Pennsylvania received a D in standards and accountability, a C- for improving teacher quality, B- in adequacy of resources, and D- in equity of resources. These grades should crystallize the problems that our state's public education system faces.

Unfortunately for our schools, Gov. Tom Ridge and President George W. Bush are advocates of school choice, a position that could only further undermine the fate of public schools in the state. In other words, instead of helping to improve the public school system, especially those schools in urban areas that have demonstrated the most need, Ridge supports a plan that would allow tax money to go toward private educations.

What, then, will become of the public schools that are already struggling to cater to the needs of their students while trying to meeting the standards such as ones mentioned in Education Week? Are those children expected to accept the fact that their school is failing while children of upper-middle class families have the option of attending private school?

In his first major proposal as president, Bush has unveiled an education plan that could offer some aid to our state's schools. Bush's plan first calls for the identification of failing schools. Once they are identified, the federal government will help them improve and meet educational standards.

Sounds good so far, but the plan comes again at somewhat of a cost to public schools. If the failing school does not meet certain standards within three years, federal funding will be stripped from them and transferred to aid private education.

Although the education package does aim to lift up the failing schools, it does so with the additional intention of helping private schools. But in Pennsylvania, it's not the private institutions that need aid. It's the schools in the heart of Philadelphia and Erie that could really use the help.