Vouchers and the public schools

College Student Journal, Dec, 2003 by Marlow Ediger

The topic of vouchers comes up frequently in the news media. More parental choice as to where the offspring is to be sent to school is advocated by selected educators. Others feel the public schools, rather, should be improved upon with smaller class size as well as quality teachers and facilities. The debate does not subside but goes on.

**********

There is considerable debate about the pros and cons of using vouchers to foster more favorable educational opportunities for children. With vouchers, a parent could use the money from the school the child is presently attending to a perceived more favorable educational system. Thus, the moneys for that child leaves the sending school and goes to the receiving school which the child proposes to attend. Generally, vouchers are used where a school is labeled as failing. Thus, the school may not meet standards within a state based on test scores of learners. Schools labeled as failing then need to upgrade their curriculum and school experiences provided for children.

Children in failing schools might then be sent to either parochial schools or to other public schools. Pupils might also be sent to a private non parochial school but these are far and few in number. When a child is in a failing school, the parent is in the driver's seat in choosing a school for the offspring to attend (Education Week, April 9, 2003).

Problems Involved in Selecting a Voucher School

There are a plethora of problems involved in choosing a school for the child from a failing school to attend. First, the receiving school may require more money for enrolling as compared to what the sending school provides in terms of a voucher. If the sending school has a voucher value of $4,000 per child and the receiving parochial school requires $7,000 annually per child, the parents need to fork up the difference of $3,000. Many parents will not have that kind of money, even for a single child.

Failing schools will generally be in the low-income areas of a city or area. These children generally have not had the learning opportunities than have children from the suburban areas of a city.

Second, transportation needs to be paid by the parents of the child attempting to enroll in a different school. Parents here might well find it a burden to pay for transportation costs or to personally transport the child to a different school. There are poor socio economic parents who do not possess a car, as a minimum, to transport their child.

Third, a handicapped child may find it impossible to enroll in a private school. It costs about three times more to teach a handicapped pupil as compared to a normal child. Most private school pupils will then need to be educated in the regular pubic schools. Many parents of handicapped pupils might be dissatisfied with their child's education.

Fourth, most private schools are Catholic institutions of education. Protestant parents may not desire to have their offspring educated in a Catholic school. Religious and denominational beliefs are very important to many parents.

Fifth, a private Catholic school may have too many admission criteria, which then eliminate a plethora of pupils from tuition voucher advantages. Thus, a learner wishing to enter a private school may not meet academic test result standards of a possible receiving school. The standards are set high for pupils to meet in obtaining a select group of parochial school pupils. Pupils are to succeed in school and not be floaters. Catholic schools view it a privilege to enroll in their schools, not a right.

Sixth, there is much homework for a pupil to do each day. An easy way of achievement is generally not in the offing. Attending a private school will not in and of itself provide a graduating genius. It takes hard work and effort together with good native endowment to get to the top of the class in any school (See Au, 1993).

The Advantaged Individual in Society

Voucher money may go to parents whose children presently are doing well in parochial school education. These children are already enrolled in parochial education and are achieving optimally academically. These children have met all the hurdles for admission and retention in parochial education. But, it is the pupil in a failing school who may need attention. Failing schools are so labeled if they do not meet state academic standards two years in row. The standards might be based on standardized or criterion referenced test results. Why then might pupils in a low socio economic area do poorly in test results? Opposite is the tendency of suburban school pupils to do well on test scores and definitely not be labeled as attending "failing schools." (Ediger and Rao, 2001).

Adequate family income does buy educational advantages such as more reading materials in the home setting, higher parental education levels which aid in maintaining a sophisticated level of home conversation, family trips and tours of other states and of nations abroad. Advantages pay for participation in extra curricular activities after school, having suitable food as well as clothing for all occasions, quality medical care, and the list goes on.