School Vouchers – Not So Good

The school voucher debate has existed in one form or the other for decades now. Some try to say that educational programs in Vermont and Maine, which began nearly two hundred years ago, are related to today’s voucher debate. However these programs were out of necessity, since neither state could practically set up a public school system which would cover all of the students. These two states’ early programs don’t have very much bearing on the contemporary issue of vouchers. Today’s debate began largely in the 70s, when public funding for private schools began to be put in front of voters. There were two initiatives through the seventies which would have given students money to attend private schools (through a “scholarship program” in Maryland in 1972, and through a voucher program in Michigan in 1978). Both of these proposals were soundly rejected by voters. In addition, there was another proposal in Michigan in 1970 which amended the state constitution prohibiting the use of taxpayer money to fund non-private schools. This proposal passed by a significant margin. Since this time, the public has continued to vote down programs which try to give taxpayer money to private schools. Throughout the 90s, from California and Colorado to Michigan and Washington, voucher programs were defeated in the voting booths. (History of Failed Voucher / Tax Credits)

Before I go any further, it is important to explain exactly what the term “educational voucher” means. The actual policies vary dramatically from state to state. However there are a few constants. The most basic form of any voucher program, is a system that gives a student a certain amount of money so that they can attend an alternative school. This money is nearly always taxpayer funded, and oftentimes comes out of the students’ public school. Most voucher programs today are for students who are going to “failing” public schools. The proponents of vouchers say that it is a way for these students to receive a quality education at another public – or private – school. But to go into further detail is to risk overgeneralizing the issue. Some programs specifically target the economically disadvantaged. Others make no note of it. Certain voucher programs draw distinctions between public and private, between parochial and secular – restricting voucher use to, say, neighboring public schools. And other programs make no distinction.

This is the first and most immediate problem behind voucher programs. A lack of consistency from state to state. The benefits of vouchers are also not so clear cut. It would be a very expensive endeavor. And finally it doesn’t seem to be a solution for all of the students, since only a few would receive the vouchers. These issues as well as others cause me to be opposed to most voucher programs.

The fact that voucher programs vary so much creates problems. If a child has more access to voucher funds in one state or district than another, what does it solve? One of the purposes of vouchers is to give children equal access to educational opportunities, but I don’t see how this is possible when we leave the particulars up to the whim of the local government. It seems natural to assume that districts which can afford it will pour money into their voucher programs, while those who can’t are the exact people that most of the programs are suppose to be targeting in the first place: the economically disadvantaged. A nationwide, federal voucher program could solve this problem, but this seems unlikely to happen.

Voucher programs have other practical problems to them. Like the prohibitive cost involved. Many voucher programs involve taking out the voucher money from the school where the student is transferring from. The Milwaukee voucher, which costs $39 million, came straight out of tax dollars that would otherwise have funded the public school district. (Barbara Miner) The thinking is that since the child will not be a student there, that the school district will not need the money it would take to teach the child. While this makes sense in the abstract, it doesn’t make sense when you realize what it actually means. If voucher programs are targeting students at failing schools, this means removing funding from these schools. And even if the program sets money aside for the voucher program, separate from the public school funds, it is still highly problematic. This will mean an increase in taxes. And this money could very well be better spent at the public school district. Spending for private schools on things like transportation is oftentimes more expensive, because they do not have the busing infrastructure of the public school system and their students are typically more widespread. According to a Legislative Audit Bureau report in Wisconsin, only 38 percent of the voucher schools provided transportation for students. (Miner) This means longer drives for the little school-provided transportation that’s available, and more parents driving their children. Because of this, putting money into private schools is in some respects more inefficient than focusing on public schools. The basic public school infrastructure is already up and running, while private schools have typically been a more specialized affair.

Another problem with private schools is their often religious nature. By some accounts 85% of nonpublic enrollment is at parochial schools. (Edd Doerr) This has several negative consequences. It means that taxpayer money will be going directly to religious institutions. Not only does this unnecessarily entangle church and state – something the Supreme Court fiercely fought against throughout the 60s and 70s – but it also means that the government would be funding institutions which currently don’t have to comply with equal opportunity and non-discriminatory practices. To make public funding of parochial schools as constitutionally legitimate as possible, it would require increased government interference into these institutions. This would further entangle church and state, and many would be opposed to it. And even ignoring this problem of entanglement, many taxpayers would be upset to learn that their tax dollars are going to parochial schooling. And there is no real way to rectify this problem.

But people’s taxes end up where they don’t want them to all the time. There are greater issues at stake. Like whether a voucher program actually improves educational opportunities for school children. And this answer is far from being answered. It is a difficult question to answer because private schools are not held to the same sort of standardized testing or accountability standards that our public schools are held to. Teachers are typically less educated, and indeed don’t even have to be certified. And even when a private school does test its students, they are not required to report the results. Some proponents of school vouchers cite parent satisfaction, but this is hardly an objective standard from which to judge. (Just the FAQs – School Choice) There is no verifiable way to judge whether students receiving vouchers for private schools are getting a substantially better education. A report by Wisconsin’s Legislative Audit Bureau, a nonpartisan organization, found that “some hopes for the [voucher] program – most notably, that it would increase participating pupils’ academic achievement – cannot be documented.” (Miner) And a whopping 28% of schools receiving vouchers in 98-99 were not even accredited or seeking accreditation. (Miner)

Public support for voucher programs is also lacking. When faced between private and public education, the majority of Americans would prefer to invest in the public school systems. A 2001 Zogby poll found that, when asked whether or not they support tax dollars to go to voucher programs, the results were 49% opposing, 48% supporting. 32% of people strongly disapproved of voucher programs while only 24% of likely voters strongly supported them. Support among blacks is even lower than among the general populace, disapproving of vouchers by a margin of 57% to 41% according to the Zogby poll. (School Vouchers: What Public Thinks & Why) And when asked more specific questions, support for vouchers continued to decline. When asking voucher supporters if they would still support the programs if it meant pulling revenue from the public school systems, only 57% still supported voucher programs. Questions like whether or not private schools which accept vouchers should be required to meet the same standards as public schools, and whether privates schools which receive taxpayer money should be required to disclose how that money is spent, was met with strong approval in the high 80-90% range. Finally, according to the 2001 Zogby poll, the question was asked if introducing voucher programs into the respondents’ school district would have a positive or negative affect on the public school districts. The respondents said, with a margin of 49 to 42, that it would hurt their public school system. A more recent study corroborated this findings, and found opposition to vouchers increasing. The 2003 Phi Delta Kappan / Gallup poll found that 60% of respondents opposed vouchers, while only 38% favored them. (35th annual PDK / Gallup Poll)

Ultimately, whether or not vouchers improve the education of the children receiving them, they undoubtably decrease the quality of education for everyone left behind. They take funds away frm the public school district, and they shift the framing of the debate. In many instances the public school system needs significant improvement. But vouchers do not accomplish this. The call for “competition” among our educational institutions is ludicrous. Free market principles might work when dealing with heads of cabbage, but when it comes to people they oftentimes fail – as our ‘choice’ health care system has proven. Forcing public schools to jump through loops so that they don’t lose funding simply encourages teaching to the test. And since test-taking isn’t a particularly useful life skill, this is detrimental to the school children. Skills that our public schools are failing to teach, like critical thinking or basic reasoning skills, aren’t easily “testable” and therefor get lost when we unduly focus on bubble sheets. Vouchers exasperate this problem.

Ultimately, the benefits of vouchers are unproven – yet the risks are very real. The debate has evolved into a highly divided, partisan issue. Because at the heart of it, it’s not simply a question of the welfare of our children. It’s a continuation of long-term efforts towards privatization. Some of the original proponents for voucher programs discounted the idea of limiting the programs to the economically disadvantaged or to those in failing school districts. Not only do we need to look at the benefits and drawbacks of voucher programs, but we also have to look at the proponents behind these programs. It shouldn’t be a total surprise that the main support for voucher programs comes from a vocal conservative minority.

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Works Cited

“History of Failed Vouchers and Tax Credits”. People for the American Way. 4/11/05
Doerr, Edd. “The Empty Promise of School Vouchers”. USA Today. 3/97: 88-91
“Just the FAQs – School Choice”. Center for Educational Reform.
Miner, Barbara. “Who’s Vouching for Vouchers?” The Nation. 6/05/00
“School Vouchers: What the Public Thinks and Why”. People for the American Way. 4/11/05
“35th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward The Public Schools”. Phi Delta Kappa & Gallup. 8/03