Richard WarnickVouchers: Debunking PCE Talking Points
I’m of the opinion that the voucher referendum is primarily if not exclusively about taking back our democracy from the special interest-ridden Utah legislature. But what if the special interests were right this time, and private school vouchers are actually a good idea? I don’t think so. Let’s debunk the main talking points from the PCE website:
- There are more than 120 private schools across all of Utah. 94% of Utahns live in a county that has a private school.
All but 34 of these schools are clustered along the Wasatch Front (SLT article, scroll down for map). According to the pro-voucher Sutherland Institute, only 88 Utah private schools will be voucher-eligible. Several of those have already said that they won’t accept vouchers.
Equality of opportunity means the ability for every child to attend a good school in the neighborhood. The PCE voucher plan does nothing to help rural students or others who would need transportation to reach a private school of their choice, even if it’s in the same county.
- The average tuition at a K-8 private school is under $4,000; some even have tuition under $3,000.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that only Catholic schools would be affordable under the private school voucher program. The Sutherland Institute says the average cost of private school tuition in Utah is $4,250. That means even families that are eligible for the maximum voucher amount will have to shell out an average of $1,750 a year per child for tuition alone (never mind additional fees, or costs for transportation and uniforms). That’s unaffordable, considering that the max $3,000 voucher only goes to families with an annual income of $30,000 or less and four or more children.
- Taxpayers save $5,500 on every child that transfers from a public school to a private school using a voucher.
Actually, private school vouchers increase costs, by requiring taxpayers to fund two school systems, one public and one private. The extra cost is estimated somewhere between $43 million to $60 million per year.
- Private school vouchers will mean more than $1 billion in additional funding for public schools.
Most private school vouchers would fund students who would attend private schools even without vouchers, or home-schooled students who transfer to private schools. PCE’s pie-in-the-sky estimate of $1 billion makes two assumptions: that each student who switches from public education to private will save the state $5500 a year, and that 181,000 will switch. That’s more than a third of all public school students in the state, and more than ten times the students currently enrolled in private schools.
- Private school vouchers have been successfully used in states across the country.
Private school voucher systems encourage economic, racial, ethnic, and religious stratification in our society. The absence of public accountability for voucher funds has contributed to rampant fraud, waste and abuse in current voucher programs.
In Milwaukee, a private school voucher program targeted to low-income students resulted in no long term improvement in education test scores.
Since 1966, vouchers or voucher-related measures have been placed before voters 22 times in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Voters rejected all of them, according to the NEA, with one exception—a South Dakota law to fund textbooks for private schools.
Just VOTE AGAINST Referendum 1.
October 10th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
[...] Richard Warnick does the leg work and compiles several compelling arguments against vouchers. [...]
October 10th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Nice post Richard.
Over on Steve Urquhart’s blog, I finally got him to admit, more or less, that the $1 billion in savings number is totally unrealistic.
He’s trying to claim that the only reason voucher supporters use it is because voucher opponents try to claim that vouchers will cost $300 million per year, but that’s just more spin as well. The $1.4 billion and $1.1 billion numbers are pro-voucher mainstays that they can’t back up with statistical analysis based on reality.
October 10th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
“Progressives” don’t like vouchers because they cannot control the outcome of the education process, that, and private schools make them look bad, and home schoolers these days, make them both appear lacking.
Remember the stated goal of “outcome based education”?
This is the philosophy in public education that brought our students to the dizzying heights of 30th @#$%^&* place in international competency testing.
Look it up, and re-educate yourselves.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:15 am
glenn– read this morning’s Salt Lake Tribune: Study: Private schools don’t hold edge– Poor, urban students did about as well in public high schools
October 11th, 2007 at 9:51 am
about as well? I can see i don’t have to read the article. Even so Richard, what do these tiny differences matter? People should have a choice if they desire.
“Generally” as well,… Mr Jennings “pro public school” . Pretty tough stuff Richard. Might there be some bias? No mention of the success of the home schooled
Needless to say none of this is ameliorating the vaunted title of 30th @#$%^&* place in international competency testing that our children hold in the realm of academia.
As far as I am concerned we could go back to the 1 room school house. It produced the leaders of virtue and community that created the Nation and brought us to the dizzying heights we are currently squandering.
Listen, a person can currently take a curriculum online with the City of Kamloops BC, and test out early. It is way cheap, and an option for any Canadian child that does not wish to undergo the total boredom and all encompassing time requirements of traditional public school.
In Germany I often envied my cousins who out of school at noon every day, after beginning at 8:00. These kids test in the tops in international competency testing, and if it was not for ego, we might wish to find out, what on Earth they are doing in 4 hours.
Learning would be my guess.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
glenn– It’s not about “choice.” It’s about a new entitlement program for the rich and middle class that diverts tax money to religious institutions and private business, part of a much larger privatization agenda. There are plenty of private schools already, without any need for government subsidies.
October 11th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
So you say Richard. Yet at public school per pupil rates topping 8k+ per student, I could see PLENTY of new private schools. I am a product of Public education, perhaps my take is upsetting to you, but it was formed in the public education arena, through university.
Funny that socialized Canada, has private, French immersion, religious, indigenous schooling all paid out of the same tax revenues. Then any school you wish to attend after that is also funded in the same manner. Sounds like our school system is fascist, and desires control, not even “socialized” Canadians want.
So it’s private. So what the hell else new? Like Blackwater and the complete deconstruction of public world. It’s already done. The least that could be offered, and it will occur, is that people get to educate their kids where and how they see fit, with the tax dollars the shell out. It’s is not like the privatization was impeded by democrats, they signed up for it too. Now as they lose all control, they are desperate. They deserve to be so asn incompetent and weak as they have been. Time to step away, and let others fight against what we detest in republicanism. Privately if necessary. The dems have LOST! Get out of the way, they are only making it worse in their weakness.
If public schools are not getting the job done, then out with it. Personally, when I see the squandering of money at the public till, I am very inclined to let just about anyone else have the money, within the law.
If you had a service, like garbage pick up that was municipal, and they missed you twice a month, would you not demand some alternative? Or do you wish to live in your refuse?
30th @#$%^&* place. Any educators out there wish to defend this?
In all of my telling, there have been none. Where are you incompetents. I want to hear all of the excuses. Do you share any blame? Is it all someone elses’ fault?
This blame game never worked at sea, where things really matter, it developed in the late 80’s in my view. My family used to own a lodge in Vermont catering to mostly NY city folk. Around this time I just about heard every excuse as to why a certain guest couldn’t pay all their bill. Almost always the fault of someone else.
It has now only become worse with time. Soon the entire world will simply ignore our childish ways.