Defunding Public Schools

On Wednesday, The Raleigh News & Observer reported that Arizona Governor Doug Ducey celebrated the law providing universal school vouchers passed by the Arizona legislature in June. Needless to say, the teachers’ union and parents who are unaware of what our schools are teaching are up in arms.

The article reports:

Ducey touted the signature bill he signed in July that gives all Arizona parents the ability to take state money that would go to their local public school and instead use it for private school tuition or other education costs. The governor had a ceremonial signing at a central Phoenix Christian school that already gets large benefits from the state’s tax credit donation programs and existing school voucher program. But he celebrated the new universal voucher expansion, which has been a key goal during his eight years in office. A similar law with enrollment caps that passed in 2017 was rejected by 2/3 of the state’s voters the following year, but Ducey did not stop his voucher expansion plans.

Keep in mind the political leanings of the source I am using.

The article concludes:

Lewis (Beth Lewis, executive director of Save Our Schools Arizona) and other public school advocates say vouchers take money from an already underfunded public school system, while proponents herald the program as letting parents choose the best education for their children. Lewis contends the new voucher law could take away more than the new school funding lawmakers added this year, which neared $1 billion in ongoing and one-time cash. Under the new law, an estimated 60,000 private students and about 38,000 being homeschooled would immediately be eligible to take up to $7,000 per year. Some of this currently get vouchers and many already get money from groups like School Tuition Organizations that funnel tax credits to students. All 1.1 million students who attend traditional district and charter schools would also qualify to leave their public schools and get money to go to private schools. About a third already qualify, but only about 12,000 students statewide now use the system.

There is no reason the public schools shouldn’t compete on an even playing field. For too long they have been top heavy and inefficient–not to mention the garbage they are teaching our children. Academic achievement has declined in recent years in America, and I believe that healthy competition will bring it back. If the public schools start actually teaching our children reading, writing, and arithmetic, the students may return. Until that happens, parents should not be forced to put their children in failing schools. Make public schools earn their students.