I’m a public school teacher. I believe in the public schools and the good they do but I know public schools are not a good fit for every child. However, vouchers are not the solution.
Any private school in my area costs far more than the state’s per pupil allotment (the amount of money the state gives for each student enrolled in a district). The legislature will not be willing to give more to private schools in a voucher than the public schools. Furthermore, if the private schools take state funds, then they aren’t truly private are they? That means that religious education becomes problematic.
Furthermore, if a school takes vouchers, it will not be able to turn down special education students who apply. Here’s the dirty little secret of special education. Any student with an IEP cannot be suspended for more than a total of 10 days in a school year if his or her disability can be blamed for the behavior. There are two main reasons parents go to private schools: better academics and stronger discipline. Discipline will diminish in the private schools.
Of course there is no guarantee that private school’s won’t simply raises their tuition. This will however result in an increase in taxes or loss of services elsewhere as the number of students funded by the state will be increased.
Is this really what you want?
