School Vouchers?

[H. Ross Peron]

Against school vouchers. If you want "school choice" just abolish tuition and selective admission for private schools.

How would private schools fund themselves?

I think he means that the government would fund private schools but they couldn't charge tuition.
[/quote]

This. And the possibility of private donations or funding by a church or some other organization would not be excluded either.

[King]

It takes parents who care and kids who can be good influences out of schools that need them.

[Deus Naturae]

It takes parents who care and kids who can be good influences out of schools that need them.

Even if a kid can be a good influence, I still think that they should at least have the option of transferring to a better school. A school with kids of mixed academic backgrounds has it merits, but I still think that high-performing kids should at least have the opportunity to choose the school that best allows them to meet their potential.

[Ban my account ffs!]

It takes parents who care and kids who can be good influences out of schools that need them.

Even if a kid can be a good influence, I still think that they should at least have the option of transferring to a better school. A school with kids of mixed academic backgrounds has it merits, but I still think that high-performing kids should at least have the opportunity to choose the school that best allows them to meet their potential.

Their potential could be met even in local schools if we provided the necessary funding for programs that offer challenging curriculum for the smart kids.

What you advocate is just taking the cream off the top.  Cream for you... skim milk for everybody else.

As for funding:  it should be reformed.  Here in Minnesota they first reformed the funding for public schools back in 1971 and subsequently in 2001 that allowed the state to take over the majority of funding.  My local school district receives roughly 80% of its funding from the state with federal funds contributing around 10% and local funding making up the rest.

Basically the state provides funding on a per pupil basis.  Federal funds are generally tied to specific programs.  And while school districts do have some power to raise funds from property taxes... most of this funding must be approved by voters through a levy referendum which is based on a per pupil basis. 

My local district has approved a $500 per student levy to pay for all day, every day Kindergarten (which the state will now fund beginning next year), to hire more teachers to lower class sizes, and to maintain and purchase school buses.  Our school district is the size of Rhode Island with 5000 students so transportation costs (which are funded at the state level on a per student, rather than student-mile basis) are always sucking up general fund money that should be used in the classroom.

There is also open enrollment.  If you want to attend a different school than your neighborhood school or even another district... you can.  But transportation becomes an issue and they will only allow for non-resident students if the school has room.

[Deus Naturae]

It takes parents who care and kids who can be good influences out of schools that need them.

Even if a kid can be a good influence, I still think that they should at least have the option of transferring to a better school. A school with kids of mixed academic backgrounds has it merits, but I still think that high-performing kids should at least have the opportunity to choose the school that best allows them to meet their potential.

Their potential could be met even in local schools if we provided the necessary funding for programs that offer challenging curriculum for the smart kids.

What you advocate is just taking the cream off the top.  Cream for you... skim milk for everybody else.

Even assuming a public school system in which all schools are fairly equal and have ample funding, I still don't see what would be wrong with school vouchers. It seems to me that they would increase per-pupil funding in public schools (by easing the burden on schools in populous areas), increase the number of educational opportunities present, and encourage innovation and improvement in education (by creating competition between schools). 

[Leftbehind]

Equality usually never works by restricting individual freedom.  That's ultimately destructive and quickly pisses everyone off.  Look at communist societies and how they stultified their culture by attempting that type of forced equality.  What I'm saying is that rich kids don't obtain an exceptional educational benefit from these schools.  They obtain an exceptional social benefit.  That social benefit of being rich is impossible to remove without having a communistic society.

Seems to have worked fine in Finland, and I question how pissed off a population would get when 95% don't benefit from it. As it happens I do want a communistic society, and see this as one element of it. Frankly, my main motivation is having the ruling classes kids in our schools to ensure there's the necessary motivation to fund and improve public schooling. Of course they can carry on networking all they like - but removing their isolation from the working class should make them less sociopathic when they inevitably wield power.

[dead0man]

Saying that poor people that care should be allowed to use vouchers implies that there are poor people that don't care

wait wait wait...you think every parent cares?  Really?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Most do, though. Certainly the idea that you can just blame the parents for the state of education in the American slums is absurd (as is blaming the teachers). If you want any positive movement on this issue, you have to abandon all notions of an 'underclass'.

[dead0man]

Most do, though.

Nationwide, of course, but a school that's only graduating 20% of it's students?  That's a lot of apathy.

I more or less agree with the rest of your post.

[Indy Texas]

Against school vouchers. If you want "school choice" just abolish tuition and selective admission for private schools.

How would private schools fund themselves?

I think he means that the government would fund private schools but they couldn't charge tuition.

This. And the possibility of private donations or funding by a church or some other organization would not be excluded either.
[/quote]

So how is that a private school, then? How is it not just like any other public school at that point?

[H. Ross Peron]

Against school vouchers. If you want "school choice" just abolish tuition and selective admission for private schools.

How would private schools fund themselves?

I think he means that the government would fund private schools but they couldn't charge tuition.

This. And the possibility of private donations or funding by a church or some other organization would not be excluded either.

So how is that a private school, then? How is it not just like any other public school at that point?
[/quote]

It wouldn't really except the administration and possibly some religious instruction (if its a religious private school).

[Del Tachi]

Oppose.

The way to fix the public education system is not by taking money out of the public education system.

[courts]

the thing people are forgetting is that not every voucher program is necessarily a subsidy to private schools. they could just as easily be to other public school districts or charter schools or some other alternative scheme. as i said the implementation and specifics of the program matters. although i'd be open to just banning private schools entirely. actually morrakiu made a brilliant video on this awhile back. can't say i'm as rabidly anti teachers union but its still pretty amusing and makes what should (but aren't) obvious points
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK3fFu0PWc

[Sec. of State Superique]

I tend to disaproove School Voucher but the whole idea of it looks like a Educational Single-Payer and I would see no problem on that if the Private Schools accepted a Basic Curriculum...

[Lief 🗽]

I don't really know much about education policy, but the fact that an ideology that is usually very anti-education, very anti-children, and very anti-poor is pushing vouchers leads me to believe they're probably a bad idea.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I don't really know much about education policy, but the fact that an ideology that is usually very anti-education, very anti-children, and very anti-poor is pushing vouchers leads me to believe they're probably a bad idea.

But they're pro-Jesus, so it all balances out!

[Repub242]

Yes, I do think that the government should provide school vouchers to families.