Honestly, with all of the political rhetoric swirling around, I feel that there will never be a bipartisan conversation that just presents the facts that are being argued. That is a tragedy because there are several conversations that need to be had. One that is personal to my situation is the school voucher program.
My husband and I have chosen to put our children in private school. We have several positive reasons that we could list, but one of the prominent factors is that our small school has afforded our children some unique opportunities that are not available elsewhere. But that has come at a cost for us. We still have to pay several thousand dollars a year in taxes that are funneled into the school system that we do not received anything from.
So I have spent hours funneling through paperwork and websites to see what the main arguments are surrounding the voucher program. As best as I can tell, it comes down to these main arguments.
People who support school vouchers claim:
- Parents have the right to decide where their child goes to school This should not be based on income.
- Parents who send their children to private school are forced to pay for education twice.
- The government is not doing a good job running the education system.
- Vouchers could increase competition between schools.
- Vouchers would give equal opportunity to kids who would normally be unable to have a quality education.
People who oppose school vouchers claim that:
- Voucher take money from public schools, where it is needed because those school already lack funding.
- There would not be a separation of church and state. Most private schools are religious.
- School vouchers would lead to division in America.
- Private schools would just increase their tuition in order to make more money.
So, is there one side that seems to have an advantage over the other? I definitely think that there are good arguments that could be developed for either side. But for goodness sake, there needs to be some adult conversations that take place without name-calling, anger and stubbornness. Because the biggest losers in that scenario will ALWAYS be the very children we are trying to help.
References:
School Vouchers pros and cons. (2015, November 25). Retrieved March 6, 2017 from
https://publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu/live/news/1076-school-vouchers-pros-and-cons
It would be interesting to see how the finances of vouchers would work out in the long term. Meaning, how would the amount of a voucher provided to a family compare to what they are actually paying in taxes toward education? Would we be further bankrupting our public schools by offering vouchers?
ReplyDeleteWe are fortunate to live in an area that provides several quality, publicly funded education choices. But if we didn't, I would be certainly be in search of other options!
That is a really good question, and unfortunately, I think the answer would vary depending on geographical location. As for our situation, what we pay in taxes every year is almost 2x what it costs to send our children to private school. I think the fear of the people apposed to vouchers is that voucher recipients would take that extra money away from the public school and pocket it because it is not needed for the private education. That is a valid fear, and would definitely need to be discussed.
DeleteAs a mom, and someone who chose to homeschool up until this year when we moved overseas, I am fully aware of the debate. I have friends who come down strongly on both sides of the issue, and yes, I wish we could have civil conversations about the topic! I am generally in favor of vouchers, or perhaps a tax credit, and such a system certainly would have been helpful to our family. However, the issue, for me, has more to do with my beliefs about other issues such as the role of government, the rights and responsibilities of parents, and personal liberty, rather than being just about money.
ReplyDeleteI believe that parents, not government, hold the primary responsibility for the education of their children. Public education has provided benefits to many students and communities throughout the years, especially those that had no other educational opportunities, but despite that, I do not believe that the government “owes” anyone an education, nor does the government “owe” anyone a refund on services they’ve paid for via taxes, that they don’t use. However, since the government has decided that educating children is important, and is willing to use tax dollars to pay for that, I don’t think it is a bad thing to put at least some of that money back into the hands of parents via a voucher or a tax credit, to use towards whichever educational institution or curriculum that they believe to be best for their children.
If we could get past the battle of whether or not any sort of voucher or credit should be allowed, I think the next big question would be how to determine how much should be given. The question then is, would it be reasonable for families choosing not to use public education to receive only the amount they paid in taxes that went toward public education? (To me, this seems to be the least helpful option.) Should they receive the amount it would cost for the school district to educate their child/children? Should it be based on the cost, or the percentage of the cost, of the alternative schooling chosen, up to a maximum amount of the school district cost? (I am inclined to lean toward this option.) Or should it be some other amount somewhere in between all of those options?
Another big question would be about the source of the voucher or tax credit. Vouchers are often discussed on the federal level, but the funds for educating students are usually (to my knowledge) determined and disbursed on the state and local level.
As Courtney has stated, the greatest consideration in the debate about vouchers is the children whose education is affected by whatever decisions are made. I believe that children would best be served in a system that allows their parents to have options in schooling. It sounds like our new education secretary, Ms. DeVos, believes this as well. I hope people in our country will be willing to set aside their dislike of the person who appointed her, and/or their fear of vouchers taking money away from their school, and listen to her ideas.