school voucher debate in Utah

[BlackRepublican2010]

Some Black Democrats may not like vouchers, but many more like charters, and even when they don't, if you point out more Black politicians and teachers put their children in private school when compared to the general population, and that Black parents of children in school, when given a chance, choose charters and/or vouchers, there is no disagreement that options should exist.

[Tuneman100]

The teachers union is the worst special interest group in America. No group has done greater harm to education. They only look out for teachers, not the students.

[getbigmoose]

We live in Utah. There is not a private school for 20 miles from our town. Vouchers would subsidize only families that live in the proximity of private schools. I do not believe that this bill would have enough incentives for sufficient private schools to be built to provide equal access for all Utah students.

[cowboysarecool]

if there was an acceptable voucher bill, would you vote for it?

[opusvax]

Parents should ask for School Vouchers before their kids ask for Birth Control!! Parents need to REVOLT!!

[Flamingogrl5]

I think that too many people misunderstand the issue, and too many people make rash decisions based on insufficient knowledge. In reply to nbakerld, you realize that answering to a customer won't get you fired as likely as it is to make you lose a customer? You answer to the school board you are much more likely to face federal charges and termination.

[jeffroe27]

It does worry me that putting public school money into private schools makes it so that the private school is no longer private.

I know that this wouldn't happen for some time but I think over some time we would begin to have a bunch of regulations put on Private Schools.

[rmarkosian]

I don't buy this argument. There are plenty of services provided by the private sector that remain private despite recieving public funds. Public money and grants go to private entities to conduct studies, build roads, bridges etc.

When the phone companies were government regulated service was awful, prices were high, today that isn't the case because they allowed the free-market and competition to provide the best service and for the lowest cost, just as vouchers will do for education.

[proteaglen97]

I think jeffroe27 is exactly right. What you would end up with is three types of schools: (1) public schools, (2) quasi-public schools; and (3) really private (ie no voucher) schools (which would be filled with the kids of rich parents). Government does not hand out money without retaining a say in how it's spent. You can't draw any other conclusion from our history. It will happen with voucher schools, guaranteed.

[dlstb]

@proteaglen97 So 2 choices is better than 3?

[IceSkaterSarahLyle]

@jeffroe27 A way to get around the weakness of a school voucher program would be to provide a tax incentive to those opting out of public schools -- i.e. offering to reduce the taxable income of those taxpayers whose dependents would no longer be a tax burden. If you reduced the taxable income of such taxpayers by less than half the cost of educating the children in public schooling, then the public schools would see a net gain as their decrease in costs would far outweigh any decrease in funds

[IceSkaterSarahLyle]

@jeffroe27 @jeffroe27 A way to get around the weakness of a school voucher program would be to provide a tax incentive to those opting out of public schools -- i.e. offering to reduce the taxable income of those taxpayers whose dependents would no longer be a tax burden. If you reduced the taxable income of such taxpayers by less than half the cost of educating the children in public schooling, then the public schools would see a net gain as their decrease in costs would far outweigh all else.

[nbakerld]

I like the lady who said there would be "no accountability" for techers outside of public schools.  The truth is there much more accountability in private education.

If I tell a public school teacher I don't want my kid to be taught that Christopher Columbus killed more Indians than Hitler killed Jews (a teacher really taught this), they don't care, because they answer to the school board not me. In private schools they answer to the parents. The customer. Not some bureaucratic ass.