School Choice
Steve Lagoon – August 27, 1996
School choice gives parents more options in educating their children. Through either a tuition tax credit or a voucher, parents have an alternative to the public school system. In light of the recently released testing results which show private school students scoring better than their public school counterparts, school choice is an idea whose time has come.
Much of the opposition to school choice is based on the structure of Governor Arne Carlson’s voucher proposal. Many object that his voucher plan is only for the poor who pay little in taxes, while the middle class who desire private education are excluded and are burdened with higher taxes. If they choose to send their children to a private school, they have to pay twice. First, with their tax dollars they are paying to support the public school system and then they have to pay again for their child’s private education.
My plan solves this problem and it is very simple. School choice should be for all families. Currently, state and local funding to public schools is about $6000.00 per pupil. About $3500.00 of this comes from the state. My proposal is for the voucher or tax credit to be in the range of $3500.00 per pupil. That would be enough to pay the entire tuition for students at many private or religious schools. For those who wish to send their children to a more expensive school, they would have to make up the difference. However, the $3500.00 would go a long way in helping parents to provide their children with the best education possible.
Other common objections to school choice proposals are that with tax dollars involved, government bureaucrats would try to gain control of the private schools or the plan itself would violate the separation of church and state. As to the first concern, private and religious colleges already receive some funding from the federal government and have yet been able to maintain their institutional integrity. Further, many private school students take a bus to school though the cost is subsidized by public tax dollars.
Another concern is the effect that school choice would have on the public school system. I believe that the competition for students would spur improvement in the quality of education in the public schools. For those not satisfied with their public schools, they would have a choice while those currently happy are welcome to remain. If supporters of public schools are worried about a mass exodus out of the public schools with a real school choice program, what does this say about the state of the public schools?
Others object that there are not enough private schools to meet the kind of demand that such a school choice program would create. My first reaction is that the demand would eventually meet the demand. Further, even if there were not now enough slots available at private schools, is it better to keep the current system in place where parents are forced to keep their children in schools they are not satisfied with?
Finally, many including myself are interested in private schools because we feel that our traditional values are being undermined in the public school system. Is it any wonder then that many public school teachers send their own children to private schools? Private schools offer quality education, discipline and moral training for their students. As a matter of plain fairness, I want to make this choice available to all parents and their children.