John Street speaks out on vouchers.

 It was a strange sight indeed.

John Street, Democratic mayoral candidate and presumed front-runner, stood in front of Smedley Elementary School in Frankford yesterday and challenged his Republican opponent, Sam Katz, to a debate on school vouchers and the future of public education.

For months, Street has been viewed as the likely winner in the November showdown, in part because of party registration, in part because he's seen as a sort of co-mayor with Mayor Rendell in all the good things that have happened here in the last seven years.

But front-runners don't generally throw down the gauntlet of debate to their opponents. They prefer to act like statesmen, keeping away from controversy.

Could it be that Street thinks he's found in school vouchers an issue that clearly distinguishes him from Katz? An issue that might draw Democrats out to the polls for him? Or is this election closer than anyone thought?

If Street has discovered Katz's Achilles' heel, he isn't saying so.

"I'm not sure where I am with the public generally. What I have tried not to do is fashion positions on the basis of polls. I'm not standing here decrying vouchers and advocating for the public school system because I took a poll and found that a certain number of people were against vouchers. I'm not sure where the overall electorate is on vouchers."

In polling done by the Annenberg Public Policy Center for the Philadelphia Compact, a Pew Trust-funded group seeking an issue-oriented mayoral campaign, the results varied greatly depending on the question.

Asked if they liked vouchers and the tuition discount it would mean, 69 percent of the Philadelphians surveyed in January supported vouchers.

But in a second poll in late April and May, when asked if they would support a voucher program if it meant less funding for public schools, only 26 percent said they supported vouchers.

Street says vouchers will simply reduce the resources available for the public schools. The real issue, he says, is that the state isn't funding public education at a level that will enable city children to compete for technology-based jobs in the next century.

"It is clear that vouchers don't work and I think we need to get to the bottom of it," Street said.

Public schools like Smedley, which had 80 percent of its students testing at the basic level or above in the SAT-9 test, would be the loser, Street contends.

Pointing to the homes in the area, Street said, "People who live in these houses have a right to expect that when they send their children to a public school, they'll get a decent education."

And that, he said, isn't happening citywide. "These young people here will have a very dim future if something doesn't happen to improve the quality of public education available to them over the next decade," he said.

But Bob Barnett, Katz's campaign director, said he was surprised to hear that Street wants to debate. For three months Street was "holed up in his office" when the Katz campaign was trying to put together debates and joint appearances, Barnett said.

While Street described Katz as a "voucher guy," Barnett said the Republican considers vouchers merely one small part of a solution to the public school problem.

Barnett said the real reason Street held a news conference to talk about school vouchers is to shore up his support among public school teachers.

And that's because of remarks he made last week when he touted a plan to cajole more dollars out of Harrisburg.

In his fall campaign kickoff, Street proposed a vehicle for Republicans in Harrisburg and city officials to make peace over public school funding. Street said the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority could extend its jurisdiction to cover the School District.

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