Large numbers of families are ill-served by our current public school system. Republicans are attempting to use that resentment to de-fund public education. We need to hit back with a proposal of our own that addresses the policy issues and also provides immediate relief to working-class families stuck in badly-performing school districts.
The Policy problem
Educational inequalities are a threat to the USA’s internal stability and also to our international competitiveness and standard of living. We need to make schools in poor neighborhoods better because education is the only real opportunity for class mobility in America today.
The Political Opportunity for Progressives
Most voters are satisfied with the performance of their local school. But those aren’t the votes we need to be concerned about. We need to counteract right-wing proposals that threaten to peel away long-term Democratic support among working-class voting blocs in inner cities...where schools are bad and satisfaction is low. Also, too many Americans do not see education spending as having as good a "bang-for-the-buck" as other programs such as defense, law enforcement, or even public broadcasting.
The people who live in upper and middle class suburbs (where public schools are good) and those rich enough to afford private schools, have less and less stake in funding the most needy students. This is one reason why today’s worst schools are underfunded, and as the tax base and political support flees to better districts, likely to get even worse.
This is a tough problem that affects swing voting blocs. If Progressives solve it we will be heroes. If we don't, someone else will.
Itsy-Bitsy Republican Vouchers
Republican voucher proposals are designed to cut education funding, cut education spending, and eventually, cut taxes. They are really not interested in helping bad schools get better, they wish to avoid paying for any schools...bad or good. The proposal linked to above is typical: Only $3000 per child...not enough for a real education at all. Typical right-wing plans also tend to call for moving money from the public school to a private school, once again consistent with their zero-sum ideology.
A Better, Progressive Voucher
We need to put forward a plan of our own, that emphasizes Progresive values. Vouchers should be:
- Large enough to pay for high quality alternative schooling
- Porportional to family income and student needs (the poor and special-needs kids get more and rich kids get less)
- Not tied to reductions in Public School budgets. In fact, a Federal voucher program should be designed such that Public Schools that retain their students would get the Federal money as an additional revenue stream.
Why not simply put more money into the current school system?
This proposal does that. Most families are satisfied with their public school. These schools will get funds from the vouchers attached to these kids.
This proposal also provides fast relief. No parent of a 9th grader wants to hear about a 3-year, phased-in plan to fix their local school. By that time the kid has graduated!
But the main difference is that vouchers empower the parents. This is important because parents are voters. We show them disrespect when we tell them that they are not qualified to choose a school.
I know that many are concerned that funding will go to religious schools. But I do not believe that we should discriminate against schools because they teach religion. We show disrespect to parents when we imply that they should not decide their children’s religious beliefs. If a school meets testing standards for Biology, Physics, History, etc., we should not discriminate against them because they also teach religion.
Imagine if the Department of Agriculture decided that Food Stamps could not be used to buy Kosher food!
Lastly, consider that Public Schools are controlled by elected officials. If these officials disagree with parents, the parents are forced to have their kids subjected to distasteful values. At various stages, public schools have attempted to gut the teaching of Evolution or censor textbooks, for example. Depending on where you live, a Public School can be just as intolerant as a private one. The only difference is that with the public school, kids have no way out.
The Pricetag
The cost will be high. Here is a back-of-the-envelope calculation I'm throwing out just to get people talking.
- There are 13 million kids in poverty, or about 17% of all kids. They will get the largest vouchers: 13 mil x $10k = $130 billion
- The next poorest 17% might get half as much: 13mil x $5k = $75 billion
- The remaining 47 million kids might get $1k each: 47 mil x $1k =$ 47 billion
The total cost is about $250 billion/year, or a 10% increase in total Federal spending. This is not chump change. I think it's worth it, but can we sell it? Suggestions?