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DEL.ICIO.USOn the Republican topic of public schools and vouchers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you put your finger to the wind, you can sense a looming fight within the Georgia Republican party over the issue of school vouchers, involving the top two leaders of the state Senate.
There’s this article in today’s AJC, of course, about the entrance of pro-voucher groups into statehouse races.
But also consider the following, fresh report from the Gainesville Times, offered up by Harris Blackwood. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who is expected to announce a 2010 bid for governor shortly, was up in his home county today, speaking to a group of newly hired, public school teachers.
Wrote the Times:
While he hasn’t announced his candidacy, Casey Cagle told Hall County educators on Thursday that if he was living at the governor’s mansion, his children would still go to school here.
“People ask me, ‘Casey, if you’re at the mansion, are your kids still going to be in the Hall County school system?’” Cagle said. “I want you to know right now, absolutely yes. Even if we have to bring a helicopter.”
He might reconsider jokes about using state helicopters — the topic has been a dicey one in many administrations. But his pledge of support to public schools was pretty clear.
On this same day, Senate President pro tem Eric Johnson of Savannah, who may or may not be running to replace Cagle as lieutenant governor, delivered a talk to the Georgia public Policy foundation, a local and conservative think tank.
Johnson’s topic was school vouchers, and two polls that he said show overwhelming public support. A statewide poll from late June, of 400 voters, showed that 68 percent believe that all children “should be able to obtain scholarships to attend the public or private school of their parents choice.”
A separate, metro Atlanta poll showed that 69 percent of voters want vouchers accessible to children in failing schools. “Vouchers are no longer something to run from in Georgia politics,” Johnson announced.
And yet.
The questions contained in one of those polls — the statewide poll — always contained the phrase “if there were no new costs to taxpayers.”
The caveat should serve as a warning to Republicans. If they’re to tackle this topic, the money issue will be paramount, especially in these times. Legislation to offer vouchers to students in failing Clayton County sparked a near-panic in neighboring Fayette County this spring — as many lawmakers, and their secretaries, well remember.
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Comments
By TheBlogger
July 31, 2008 7:41 PM | Link to this
School vouchers are being pushed by people already sending their kids to private schools as a way to get tax money into their pockets.
They made a choice to send their kids to private school rather than to public school. They made a choice to do this rather than to work to improve the public school.
Public education is not a pay for usage tax. They should not expect to get a tax refund just because they send their kids to private school. If it were a pay for usage tax, then I won’t have to pay any (since I have no kids at all)!!
By Crystal
July 31, 2008 8:07 PM | Link to this
You don’t like vouchers because you do not want to see the effectiveness of private education. It pus the lie to government run schools. Democrats hate to see the government lose power or control. That is what really bothers people like TheBogger.
By Advocate
July 31, 2008 9:15 PM | Link to this
Three things: Contrary to the title of this post, vouchers and school choice are not just Republican issues. General Assembly votes have been bipartisan (even if slightly so) and the Georgia Public Policy Foundation event illustrated this — Dems and Republicans showed up to learn about school choice and support students. Charter school, a type of school choice, have been gaining bipartisan support more and more in Georgia and voucher programs in other states have been defended and expanded by Democrat legislators. Regardless of party, ensuring that each child be educated according to his or her needs is not a partisan issue.
Second, if our friend TheBlogger would take a look at voucher and tax credit legislation both here in Georgia and in other states, you will see that there are explicit prohibition of these programs being used to fund the education of those already in public school. With the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, a child must have been enrolled in a Georgia public school for at least one year (and they can go to a public or private school btw) and the new Tuition Tax Credit scholarship program requires that children be in public schools when they are awarded a scholarship from a granting non-profit. A great place to learn more is through the Center for an Educated Georgia
Finally, yes, rich kids have a choice — but what about low and middle income children? What about those in failing schools? Why not allow them the means to have a choice?? I don’t care about the upper income kids, I care about the child stuck in a cycle of poverty who isn’t getting the education that they deserve. That’s who these options are for — why oppose giving kids a chance?
By faye
July 31, 2008 9:48 PM | Link to this
I have no problem with either choice or more privatization - however I do have a problem with vouchers being a means of getting there (other than the SPED vouchers already enacted - I think they can actually save a system money since educating SPED students can be considerably more costly than general ed). I’m fine with the idea of a tuition tax credit - we already do it for college and daycare - why not private schools?
I don’t like vouchers and here’s some food for thought:
With vouchers, come strings - I think many private schools would rather reject the vouchers than accept the regulations.
There may be a constitutional problem with public money supporting religious schools, you know that pesky “separation of church and state” thingy.
If I make a choice to buy an expensive house in a nice neighborhood that feeds into a good school, I’m not thrilled with the idea of a) my property taxes subsidizing someone in an apartment complex across the county going to a private school or b) subsidizing someone who chose to buy a cheaper house in another district to come to my neighborhood school.
Like The Blogger mentioned, the system is inherently unfair to a home owner who has no children and who buys a house and pays property taxes - it’s unfair to that person because the expectation is that the money they spend in property taxes will stay local, improve the community, and increase the homeowner’s property values.
Now, if you want to completely overhaul the tax system and get proerty taxes out of the equation, I like it better. But as is? I think not.
As far as choice goes, I’m all for it - as long as the schools get to choose who they’ll take, too.
By DaninMacon
July 31, 2008 9:54 PM | Link to this
The left likes choice. But when you choice their way.
By BillW
July 31, 2008 10:46 PM | Link to this
Vouchers would save the taxpayers thousands per student. The cost of a public school education is far more per student than the $5,000 voucher.
By TheBlogger
July 31, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this
Imagine if….
All of those people that spend mega-bucks for private schools, spent their money on public schools. Imagine if the efforts going into private schools when into public schools.
Combine that with the already established public education system in place.
Education in the US would then be #1 in the world by far.
Instead, some people want to run from problems rather than help to resolve them. Some people want to separate themselves from others for biggoted reasons.
These are the people that want vouchers or tax credits or some government money to refund their choice.
Again, I state clearly. I would agree to vouchers or tax breaks or whatever for people sending their kids to private schools - only if I get all of my tax money back because I don’t have any kids. Whatever the reasons those people have, I can use to justify that position as well.
By DaninMacon
July 31, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this
Yeah, more money in the schools that is what we need. Are you kidding? Tossing tons of cash at the problem hasn’t done anything so far!!! TheBlogger, just will not admit that gov’t is royally screwing up education. The problem is not of lack of funds. If that were the case, then the DC school district would be the best in the nation. What are you afraid of, TheBlogger? Why do you resist choice so much?
By Copyleft
August 1, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this
Possibly because that “choice” is only available to the privileged few, while the rest of America’s children are abandoned.
Doesn’t sound like a very American principle to me.
By BillW
August 1, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
How come children are abandoned if taxpayers have to spend 10k per year to educate them? Where does it say one size fits all?
By Copyleft
August 1, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this
Communist Manifesto, that is where.
By The Snark
August 1, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this
So, your support of vouchers is due to a sincere committment to education, and not to trying to get taxpayers to subsidize your kids’ education at the local Christian segregation academy? Well. We’ll see how deep your committment is when that voucher money starts flowing to Muslim madrassas in south Atlanta.
(Madrassa — look it up on Google.)
By Copyleft
August 1, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this
Desperate Namejacker’s out of ideas and losing again, I see. Thanks for admitting defeat, right-wingers!
By Sam1234
August 1, 2008 10:48 AM | Link to this
Obama went to a Madrassa.
By DaninMacon
August 1, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this
Seems to me that is the left that is out of ideas or choices.. I think the left wants to do the same old things they always do.
By BillW
August 1, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this
I got no problem with vouchers going to a Madrassa. Are you a religious bigot? Every educational organization that receives voucher certification would have to comply with basic standards, you can be sure of that.
By The Snark
August 1, 2008 11:24 AM | Link to this
SAM1234:
Obama went to a madrassa? I hope that was intended to be satire. I would hate to think that anyone smart enough to write in the English language would not be stupid enough to fall for that hoax.
PS John McCain was in on the Gulf of Tonkin conspiracy. And, he knows about the aliens at Roswell and has been hiding it! Pass it around! By chain emails!
BillW: I believe you meant to say “I have no problem with vouchers going to a madrassa,” not “I got no problem with vouchers going to a madrassa.” But yes, the rightwing will go medieval when it happens. Good luck to anyone who thinks they can draw up “basic standards” that will prevent it without violating that old pesky liberal Constitution.
By BillW
August 1, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this
Your presumptions are all wrong as to what will happen with voucher standards. Let’s have the debate, we’re out of options. In most districts government schools are toast.