PepsiCo Backs Off Voucher Plan in Jersey City

By Drew Lindsay

Facing criticism that their company was backing vouchers, officials of the soft-drink giant PepsiCo are pulling back from their pledge to help low-income students in Jersey City, N.J., pay for private school tuition.

Vandalism of Pepsi machines and the possibility of a teacher-led boycott of Pepsi products, which also include snack foods and the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, persuaded company officials that little goodwill would come of their generosity. Some Pepsi machines in the city have been jammed to make them inoperable and plastered with signs critical of the company, said Edwin Glasspool, a market-development manager for Pepsi in New Jersey.

Private school vouchers are controversial in Jersey City, and Mayor Bret Schundler and the local teachers' union are at odds over Mr. Schundler's efforts to introduce school choice...