Keep the Tax Money in Public Schools

Parents should have a choice of schools to which they can send their children, but public tax dollars should not be used to send children to any school. In the Teacher Magazine article “D.C. Vouchers Provoke Debate”, the author states that “Republicans insist that parents deserve a choice if their kids are in failing schools, saying vouchers create competition that puts pressure on public schools to do better.” However, I would like to contend that vouchers be used only at alternative public schools, not private schools. If a school wants to accept tax payer funded vouchers then that money needs to stay in the realm of government supported schools where accountability can be assessed the same as public schools are assessed. When examining the Local Report Card data for Cuyahoga, Lorain, and Medina counties on the ODE website, the private, religious schools are not listed. I can only conclude then that they are exempt from Ohio’s system of accountability. The comments after the articles for vouchers were interesting. Some wrote that their religious school experience was quite lacking, and some wrote in that their experience was positive. These comments got me to thinking of accountability. How can we compare private, religious schools to the public schools if they are not assessed the same? How can government money be going to a school that is not held to the same standards as public schools? Where are their report cards?
The voucher system seemed to be started as a “Band-Aid” solution, as mentioned in class. The “D.C.” article reminds us that the voucher system only helps a handful of students. The government should be more focused on getting the public schools up to high standards for all of its students. Handing out vouchers to “escape” the public school system is detrimental to the system, because it focuses the debate on vouchers rather than the improving of failing schools. If a private school wants to remain “independent of government” (Glenn), then let it remain independent of tax dollars, as well. Homeowners have paid taxes for a long time to support their local school, with or without having their own children in those schools. The benefit to the taxpayer was higher property value when it came to sell their home. The entire neighborhood benefited from having good schools. As a tax payer, I want my tax money going to my local school.
The need for more options is certainly true for the parents of children on the east side of Cleveland. Most of the students in the Catholic schools, according to the chart outlining the population of students in the Catholic schools, are non-Catholic, minority, and poor. These families are obviously looking for alternatives to their local public school. Is it the religious nature of the school the reason for the enrollment in the Catholic schools or is it because those schools are the only alternative? Vouchers may be the quick fix to the problem, but the problem will not go away, until all tax dollars and more are funneled back into the public school in a constructive, efficient, and effective manner. The government should be bolstering their own schools, not supporting “independent” schools.