DEL.ICIO.USEqual Time: Parents want more choices in education
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Poor test scores. High dropout rates. Enormous schools. Large class sizes. These are the words that come to Milena Skollar’s mind when you ask the transplant about sending her children to school in Georgia.
“It’s not fun to be 50th in the nation in SAT scores — plus the size of the schools is very disturbing,” the mother of three said. “I believe in public education. I just wish the schools were better for my children.”
Skollar, a New Jersey native, is also a school social worker employed by a metro Atlanta school system. She is among the 68 percent of Georgia voters in a recent poll who support offering parents the option to transfer their children to a private school with a voucher.
As we commence another session of the General Assembly, it’s time to start thinking about parents such as Skollar and stop offering a one-size-fits-all education model to Georgia students. It’s time to offer a school voucher program for parents who want it for their children who need it.
Because both of her daughters excel in the classroom, Skollar believes her Fulton County public schools cannot challenge them enough as they get older and that a private school with smaller classes may be more appropriate. She would like more options.
In 2007, the General Assembly adopted a scholarship program for special needs children. Under the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, children earn vouchers financed with state monies to transfer to a private school of their choice. This year about 1,600 are participating in the program. It has been wildly successful and proven that vouchers do not destroy public schools. Despite doomsday predictions, the sky did not fall in.
With that early evidence, we should pursue a scholarship program for parents of any child who believe their student may perform better in a different school. Some of our public schools are excellent, but some are not. Even some parents who live near “good” schools may find a better environment for their child. This debate is not about the school or the teacher. It is about the child.
The economic recession and the state’s $2.3 billion budget shortfall will be tossed around as an excuse not to help children. But vouchers actually save money for taxpayers and help local educators.
On average, the state pays half of what it costs to educate a child in public school, and local property taxes pay the other half. Vouchers only include the state share. So, for every child who leaves a public school for a private one, school boards get to keep the local taxes that would have gone to that child’s education. It’s a win-win proposal.
School vouchers are great for Georgia public school teachers as well since they result in smaller class sizes. And with the extra money, school boards should have money for pay raises and professional development — items that get cut when budgets are stretched. And more options for students mean more options for teachers as competition will increase demand for the best and the marketplace will increase pay.
As Skollar noted, Georgia has consistently been ranked near the bottom when compared with the rest of the country. In a global economy, we need to also see where Georgia ranks. According to the 2007 NAEP, Georgia eighth-graders scored below China, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia and Malaysia. They tied Latvia and Lithuania. We have a top-down model of putting the education bureaucracy first and the children are an afterthought. Employers, taxpayers and parents should be marching in the streets.
Even if only 5 percent to 10 percent of the parents take advantage of a voucher opportunity, it could be enough to make our state compete globally and nationally. Studies show that public schools have improved academic achievement when exposed to competition such as vouchers.
So vouchers will help children, help teachers and help public schools.
For the sake of Georgia’s children and our future, it’s time to deliver real change. Let’s lead the country in education reform instead of being in last place. We can do it.
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