School Choice I Can Get Behind

by: vmars

Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 12:57:02 PM EST

I am a big opponent of private school vouchers for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the dishonesty and mendacity of many of the supporters who are more interested in helping Christian schools and harming government programs than in actually educating people.

But the primary reason is that I truly believe in public oversight of public funds, and when public funds are diverted to private schools there is no longer oversight. People pay taxes to support educating young people to become productive members of society, and then their taxes are used to support schools that may be teaching things they oppose. And there's no way to stop it -- no elections, no public meetings, no PTA, no nothing. The private school gets public funds and no public oversight.

But I am not against school choice, or competition as a good thing in government. In fact, giving parents more choice in where and how their kids are educated is a damned good thing.

Which is why this bill to allow students to attend public schools in other districts is a good start. There are issues with how this is funded, how many students each district has to take, what parameters districts will use to select students to accept, etc. It's a difficult process, but a good and necessary one.

And it will blunt the obvious intention of the Christie administration to implement private school choice and damage public education and the teacher's union. That's a good thing.

vmars :: School Choice I Can Get Behind

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School Choice I Can Get Behind | 6 comments

It sounds like a excellent idea (0.00 / 0)

I don't know why school funding can't be taken out of the property tax all together and funded with the income tax ,have a set amount the state is willing to pay per student to any school that is willing to accept that child

by: speedkillsu @ Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 18:16:28 PM UTC

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once again, home rule gets in the way (0.00 / 0)

Education should be funded at the state level with the income tax and administrated at the county level with 21 country districts replacing 600+ school districts.

I think that children should attend their local elementary schools, but be given the opportunity to change schools starting in 7th grade, based on performance with the highest-ranked students getting the most amount of choices and the lowest-ranked students getting the least amount of choices.

This kind of school choice will give both parents and students extra incentive to be engaged and work hard throughout their educational career.

by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 21:58:53 PM UTC

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I cannot wait to see the debate on this bill ... (0.00 / 0)

as parents from Millburn and Livingston mobilize to counter the prospects of having kids from Newark and East Orange attend their public schools. This bill will never happen.

by: FormerBureaucrat @ Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 18:22:09 PM UTC

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districts can choose to offer spaces... (0.00 / 0)

...to out-of-district students or not. If Millburn and Livingston do not want students from Newark and East Orange, they don't have to offer spaces to them.

by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 21:52:50 PM UTC

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exactly ... (0.00 / 0)

However there is plenty of room in private schools at a much lower price per student that will save taxpayers dollars ...

by: speedkillsu @ Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 22:44:14 PM UTC

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Schools that get to pick and choose (0.00 / 0)

There's a simple reason why private schools can offer lower costs: they get to pick and choose whom they accept and do not offer the many programs for special-needs children that public schools must offer. If we want a system in which only the kids schools want so they can stand out actually get a decent education, I'm sure the whole idea of school choice is wonderful. But if we want to live in a state in which all children get a shot at a start in life, only the public school system has been able to offer that.

by: Alex @ Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 01:40:28 AM UTC

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