Public Hellhole or Private Paradise: School Choice Reveals A

As American support for the public education system dwindles, many parents find the only place for their children to receive a quality education is in a private school. The areas that are most important to a private school are also the ones that seem to be lacking in public schools. These include safety, order, teaching the basics and challenging young minds.

Across the nation, public education systems continue to fail students; therefore many have chosen to attend private Catholic high schools to receive an education that will better prepare them for college. Overcrowded public high schools have been dealing with the problems of insufficient funding, large class sizes, students who simply refuse to learn and a

Good News v. Milford is especially welcome news for supporters of school vouchers and government funding of faith-based organizations. A majority of the Court now affirms that when "aid is offered to a broad range of groups or persons without regard to their religion" there can be no violation of the separation of church and state. "Saving the future of our country by educating our children should not be thought of as a Democratic or Republican idea. Indeed, those who ponder whether or not they should support school choice because it is a "Republican" or "conservative" initiative are missing the point that the future of our children is at stake." (Flake)

The school board of a so-called "tuition town" is required by law to pay the full tuition charged by a public school. It must pay an independent school an amount equal to the average tuition charge of the state's union high school districts ($5,903 in school year 1993-94). If the tuition at the selected independent school is greater than this amount, the school district may pay the larger amount, but it is not required to do so. The parents must cover any difference. (McClaughry, 23-24)

Vouchers hold the promise of elevating teaching to professional status, raising levels of student achievement, and restoring the confidence of the taxpaying public. If teachers do not embrace this idea, they should at least develop thoughtful arguments that show why the plan is unworkable. Until educators and their associations agrees that dissent is not only acceptable but encouraged, the public will continue to perceive education as just another in a long list of non-performing, over-bureaucratized, autocratic government programs that usurp individual liberty.

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