DIVERSITY IN THE CLASSROOM (A Liberal sees the light!)

Santa Barbara News - Press ^ | 2/24/05 | Camilla Cohee

[D Rider]

I am generally yes on vouchers myself.

I was just playing devils advocate. I believe that WindOracle is probably right, that the elite schools will kick up the tuition dramatically to keep out the riff-raff.

But if vouchers are to be used, I WOULD LIKE THEM TO GO TO LEGAL UNITED STATES CITIZENS ONLY!

[D Rider]

While I amm'm generally for vouchers, I should point out my reservations. These are based on what the federal guvmint has done to our universities. The got private and public institutions hooked on grant money and such and now can but pressure in a whole host of areas, from admissions to course of study particulars. I would hate to have the guvmint federalize private schools in a defacto sot of way. There need to be protections. The block grant idea is just one, but we need more.

Remember who we are dealing with. The Education establishment is a bunch of socialists, They will seek to control all education in a socialist/fascist manner. It is their way. It's who they are. It's what we are up against.

[WindOracle]

This is why vouchers should be granted to those whose kids are actually in the private schools, and not to the schools themselves. Parents who care enough about the kids to go to the trouble of placing them in private schools will do a good enough job of making sure the kids are actually learning something. I know that I am not going to pay money for my son to continue in a private school that does not produce results. And I am under no illusions that the govt will ever reimburse me the WHOLE amount I am paying, with or without vouchers.
Such vouchers should be payable to the PARENTS when they have demonstrated expenses. It probably should be done as some form of deduction from Income Taxes, since that would seem to me to be the easiest angle to handle it, but I am sure that it could be worked out some other way if needed. Whatever the case, you are correct, we cannot allow it to be set up in such a way that the govt gets control over the schools themselves. The schools must remain accountable to the PARENTS.

[D Rider]

When a private school accepts a government voucher, and then submits it for payment. The government then has a form of control over the school, especially when a large portion of income of the school becomes vouchers ("large portion" being as little as 15-20%). If parents apply for reimbursement instead of schools, then the bureaucrazy to implement the program goes through the roof.

The question I have is "how do we protect the integrity of the program from the Education Nazi's?"

[WindOracle]

I do not know why it would be unworkable, or need a huge bureaucracy to administer it. It could be something as simple as adding one line to the 1040 form. That line could be placed at the end, where it tells what you owe or what refund you will get. Schools could be required to give parents a single document, for proof that the kids were in that school. At that point the person would be allowed to enter a standard amount, whatever the voucher amount would be per student for that year, and that amount deducted from taxes owed, or added to the refund.

[D Rider]

First of all, vouchers should apply to citizens only. Secondly, poor families need the money upfront not at the end of the year. Thirdly, someone has to verify the proof, (unless you think it should be run the way welfare was.)

I don't think the idea is unworkable or without merit. It just has issues that need to be worked out. Especially for the reasons previoulsly stated.

[Luke21]

That's what liberalism is, forced "pie in the sky" attitudes with government coercion. Usually the liberal/communist has enough insulation to not be impacted in her own life. This one actually believed all those canards and exposed her kids to a third world school.

Now her views and values will strictly be for other people. She'll be a more traditional Demmie in the future I'm sure.