Replies

I'm a month+ late in response but... vouchers will undermine our schools but will they undermine it as badly as the costs of "alternative methods"? My suspicion is that it would be cheaper to let the people that want an alternative to get a refund on their taxes than to try and have our public schools pay for the "Great Experiment".?

Certainly NCLB is short of an absolute answer but as Mr. Bush stated in the debate "45%" more is a noble effort. How much does it require to cover everyone? I don't think I want to pay for that.

First on the second statement. While I thnk NCLB's aims are noble, the methodology is lacking. AND it is a big government, big expenditure that I don't think I want to pay either so I agree with you there. I could comment a LOT on it, but won't.

I would agree that in some states there probably is TOO much spent on some public schools. I do think that there are some areas that don't need so much. I try to use low-cost solutions in my own classroom.

Remember, though, I live in a state that has the LOWEST spending for education in the nation. We have always been underfunded, but have quietly accepted that. We've done a pretty good job for what we have. Now the powers that be want to create loads of charter schools and are willing to spend almost an unlimited amount of money to further their political agenda with not much accountability. The charter schools get 4 to 5 times per student in terms of dollars than the public schools get (for the first three years).
Some of the charter schools in my state also benefit some of the legislature's companies and cronies. That is just plain unethical to me. Other alternatives again take money directly out of the system, some to benefit others that already have lots of choices. Again, I'll be brief on this point. Some people may get a refund on some taxes, but people like me without kids now have to pay for Billy in the public school and Jill whose parents got a tax refund. I don't mind vouchers IF they don't take any money away from public education OR if they are not used for people who can afford private schools OR if the same amount of money is given to each public school despite vouchers which means the same amount of teachers with less kids and therefore smaller classes and smaller schools (that is NOT the case in my state though), OR if they are not used to promote a political agenda (which again is just plain unethical in my opinion). Vouchers sound too liberal for my tastes anyway (when I first heard about them I though they were from the left wing, imagine my surprise when so-called conservatives were some of the originators). I lump those who use vouchers as part of a political agenda as liberals too. At least in my state, it's NOT and wouldn't be cheaper at all, but cost a LOT more.

I am a proponent of simple solutions without using any extra tax money. Really, if people have a decent attitude and are willing to give a little time rather than sit on their haunches and complain, a lot can be done.