Currently, 80% of the property owners tax goes to the public schools. By paying this tax, we property owners are (hopefully- not always) providing an education for the youth in our community. If the parents don't like the quality of that education provided, they can elect to have their kid attend a charter school and are given the money to do so. Taxpayer money. My opinion is that if the parents don't like the education that is provided in the public school district in which they live, either move to a better performing district or pay out of your own pocket to send your kid to a charter school. You would anyway, if you elected to send the kid to a parochial school, military school or private school. I don't think that the taxpayer should provide the money for a public school education AND for the alternate- the charter school. Let the parents pay for any choice made that is an alternative to the public system. JMO

Because YOU made the choice to take your kid out of the failed Middletown public school system that was supported by your $5000. property taxes and place them in a parochial school knowing that YOU would have to pay the additional $4500. for parochial tuition fees.It was solely your choice. You did (before the real estate market tanked) have another choice beside the either/or choice of attending the failed Midd. schools or paying for a parochial school education.--- Move to another city where your taxes would have supported a quality public school system resulting in no need to tack on the $4500. for the parochial school cost. There is no choice for the homeowner. You must support the public schools if you live in that city even if you plan to remove your kid from that city's school system based on poor performance. You (and me) have no choice. I don't like paying property taxes for the crappy school system we have in this town either, but until the clowns in Columbus find another way of funding the schools, other than bleeding the property owner dry, I guess we have to live with it.   

School Vouchers

Pro

Education Vouchers: America Can't Afford to Wait (1991) (Off Site) by Tom Tancredo

"The shortcomings of government schools in America resemble those of the former Soviet Union."

The Legal Case--and the Fairness Case--for Vouchers (1996) (Off Site) by Clint Bolick

"This is not about the establishment of religion. It is about fulfilling a guarantee that our nation has made to every school child, and that is the guarantee of equal educational opportunity. I believe that school choice takes us a major step toward fulfilling the promise of Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954. That is the promise of giving kids who need a good education the most a real shot at attaining it."

Religion in the Public Schools [ Index ] by Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Off Site)

As church-state separation battles have escalated in recent decades, so too have misconceptions about the role of religion in public schools. Some Religious Right activists charge that the courts have misinterpreted the First Amendment to remove all traces of religion from the classroom. Has God been expelled from our schools? Has the Bible been excluded from school curriculum? In reality, the answer to these questions is "no." In order to begin to clear up some of the misunderstanding about religion's place in our schools, it is important for Americans to have the facts.

Vouchers: No, But... Taxpayer Help To Parents Will Advance Separation (1996) by David Barulich

Rebuttals to many of the arguments promoted by Freedom Lovers Against Vouchers (FLAV).

Con

The Case Against Vouchers (1996) (Off Site) by Alex Molnar

Vouchers are "bad public policy in almost every way you look at it."

Private School Vouchers (Off Site) by The Wisconsin Education Association Council

"Private school choice is a diversion sponsored by those whose collective economic decisions have made life in our urban community a daily struggle for survival."

Private School Vouchers: Myth vs. Fact (Off Site) (PDF) by Americans United for Separation of Church and State

"Vouchers are merely the first step toward full state funding of religious schools."

Voucher System Would Hurt Schools Not Help (1996) (Off Site) by Bob Chase (NEA President)

The nation's public schools are the backbone of our democratic system, weaving our diverse society into a nation and helping young people grow into responsible citizens. Pseudo reforms like vouchers that only "help" a few kids at the expense of many lead us away from the serious solutions that will help guarantee every child in the nation a quality education.