Many parents ignore vouchers, keep children in F schools

sun-sentinel ^ | July 29 2002 | Kellie Patrick

[not-alone]

So far, parents of 532 of the about 3,500 eligible Palm Beach County students say they want to move their children to a different school, said Mary Helen Arbogast, director of the district's school choice office. Of those, 412 plan to go to a public school and 120 to a private school.

State officials estimate fewer than 700 students out of the 8,900 eligible will attend a private school on the state's tab, and about double that amount will switch to a higher-rated public school, said J.C. Bowman, acting director of Florida's school choice office.

[not-alone]

I think the headline is wrong. So far, parents of 532 of the about 3,500 eligible Palm Beach County students say they want to move their children to a different school is a sizable %

[not-alone]

FYI

[bert]

You don't have to change schools if the one you're at has a good basketball program.

[Theodore R.]

The situation with the poor and vouchers is like that to health insurance provided by employers of low-income workers. Many low-income workers do not use their company health-care plans because they do not want or cannot meet the out-of-pocket deductible. Therefore, they will go to free health clinics when possible and pay nothing out of pocket. They do not understand that their employers are paying a fringe benefit in their name, and they are rarely able to take advantage of health insurance. Similarly, with vouchers, there will be some out-of-pocket expenses, which the poor feel (and perhaps rightly so) that they cannot incur. Therefore, they will continue to use public schools on the theory that private schools are still too expensive. So for the underclass little will change even if vouchers are provided for private schools and deductible health insurance is offered by employers.

[not-alone]

that is 531 out of 800 that responded so far. I surprised at that many.Of course the press here want to make it look bad for Jeb.

[lelio]

Palm Beach County students
Did the change form require them to draw a straight line? That could account for the small count.

[not-alone]

Some of the private schools are offering to supply uniforms

[chachacha]

What do you expect from parents that are dummer than their kids.

[mdittmar]

Many parents ignore vouchers their kids, keep children in F schools

[not-alone]

I don't understand your point about the health insurance? and doesn't anyone else think 500 so far is a good number?

[mdittmar]

So for the underclass little will change

Great point,and I hope it always remains this way.

Those looking to the goverment to take care of all their needs will always be the "underclass".

[speekinout]

State officials estimate fewer than 700 students out of the 8,900 eligible will attend a private school on the state's tab, and about double that amount will switch to a higher-rated public school,

So, nearly 25% of the eligible students will wind up in better schools?? That sounds pretty good to me!
Of course, I'd rather see 100%.

[Theodore R.]

What I meant is that low-income workers who have health insurance coverage on their jobs do not wish to pay the deductibles and copayments to activate their insurance if there is a free government health clinic that they can otherwise use instead. In some cities, such as Shreveport, New Orleans, Kansas City, and St. Louis there are charity hospitals that serve the poor without charge. Therefore, people with health insurance may still elect to go to the charity facilities to avoid deductibles and copayments.

[not-alone]

Thanks, Here in Florida the parents have the choice of going to another public school with passing grades , which shouldn't cost them more. However some parents let their children make the choice and they may just want to stay with friends or as someone pointed out pick a school for the basketball team. That why I think the number so far is good.

[summer]

Similarly, with vouchers, there will be some out-of-pocket expenses, which the poor feel (and perhaps rightly so) that they cannot incur. Therefore, they will continue to use public schools on the theory that private schools are still too expensive.

That is a true point you make. In fact, I read somewhere that a number of poor parents have cited the federal free lunch program as the reason they chose to keep their kids in the "F" rated public school (private schools do not all have school caferterias, and thus do not all provide lunch at a school cafeteria). At many private schools, students either bring lunch or order out, and poor parents say they do not want this responsibility.

[Ann Archy]

They are STUPID....That's why they are DEMOCRATS!!

[summer]

Thanks for the ping on this article.

This continues a trend previously seen in FL - a relatively low number of poor parents opting to take their kids out of the "F" schools. And, I agree with what you said here:

However some parents let their children make the choice and they may just want to stay with friends or as someone pointed out pick a school for the basketball team.