David Brennan

David Brennan

"In 1992, Brennan, a successful lawyer, businessman and Republican Party activist, was appointed by GOP Gov. George Voinovich to head the Ohio Commission on Educational Choice. Brennan and the commission drafted a plan that would have given $13 million in scholarships to 4,000 children in several districts, but it met intense opposition from teachers unions, and it never emerged from the Ohio legislature.

"Undeterred, Brennan submitted to the legislature in 1995 a narrowly tailored pilot choice program for Cleveland, which was passed and then signed into law by Voinovich.

"Although many people contributed greatly to the victory, supporters, such as Ohio State Rep. Bill Batchelder (R.), recalled that Brennan's work on the plan was essential. "David brought a lot of focus to this particular issue, and without that focus, nothing would have happened in the legislature," he said.

In September 1996, Brennan founded the independent Hope Academies, which put him in the middle of the very program he helped to create. Both Hope Central and Hope Tremont are located in the heart of Cleveland's inner city, and are designed to educate voucher recipients exclusively."


 * Director, Alliance for School Choice

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