Which is one of the two main reasons why abbott and his fellow republicans are pushing for this... (1) Hurt the current public school systems in Texas (and nationwide), (2) Reward wealthy parents who will take the moneys intended for the public schools to lower the cost of the private schools they intended to send their kids to.
No. I should have said, 'the program is open to nearly all students who were enrolled in public or private (which I think includes homeschool) schools the previous year'
It's no secret that Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks (billionaires active in TX politics) are working to destroy public education in Texas. With folks like Seliger leaving, not sure how long the dam will hold. Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo won’t seek reelection | The Texas Tribune
Reposting…. Also religious schools can fund this themselves…. Eroding the separation of church and state is another issue in this boat.
What's weird is that I, unlike most liberals, am not reflexively trying to protect public schools. I want to privatize education. I instead object on conservative economic grounds to their really dumb and not at all conservative approach. It's crazy that I can accuse Texas Republicans of big government, nanny state policy.
I agree with those who think that this could potentially increase costs anyway at private schools, and that (if costs don't go up), you ultimately benefit those already enrolled. I do think some sort of credit could be had for folks who choose to go private or homeschool, just maybe not as large. But ultimately, the taxes we pay for schools is for the greater good anyway. Same reason people with no kids still pay into those property taxes like people with kids.
Agreed. Education should be paid for by parents, on a per kid basis. In fact, let's not even bother with taxation for education, and just charge tuition directly.
Rich people will just have to pay for their kids going to expensive private schools with their own money...
I know, shocking. Voucher proponents like sarah huckabee lied to get rich kids parents private school discounts. Arkansas LEARNS report: 95% of voucher students did not attend public school last year https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/...udents-did-not-attend-public-school-last-year
The Texas Constitution requires an efficient and free public education. I don't hate that vouchers would get passed through lawmaking process, but I do think it should be sent to the voting public to decide as a constitutional amendment since it's in the Texas Constitution.
Wheels trying to ram this down our throat is typical of him, I am glad they stood up and said no. The report form Arkansas is an eye opener and I agree with Kim, if you want this, then send it to the voters..............I don't trust those in charge and their billionaire "friends"
The well-funded strategy to sow distrust in any institution is quite effective, from election integrity to vaccination to local schools. Naive individuals play a significant role. Wake up like this lady; it's for your children's future. @AroundTheWorld - this is what wokism should be. Former Far-Right Hard-Liner Says Billionaires Are Using School Board Races to Sow Distrust in Public Education The largesse from billionaires Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks has made its way into local politics across Texas. Courtney Gore, a Republican school board member in Granbury, says it’s part of their strategy to build support for vouchers. https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-tim-dunn-wilks-brothers-vouchers-courtney-gore When Courtney Gore ran for a seat on her local school board in 2021, she warned about a movement to indoctrinate children with “leftist” ideology. After 2 1/2 years on the board, Gore said she believes a much different scheme is unfolding: an effort by wealthy conservative donors to undermine public education in Texas and install a voucher system in which public money flows to private and religious schools. ... Gore said that she believes school board candidates are being recruited, at times without their full knowledge, in an effort “to cause as much disruption and chaos as possible” and weaken community faith in local school districts. ... Gore broke from the group shortly after taking office in January 2022, when she concluded that the materials she had warned about on the campaign trail were not present in Granbury schools. She claims the men and other leaders of the far-right faction in Hood County, home to Granbury, dismissed her findings. They continued to pummel the district over books and curriculum, supported school board candidates who sought to remove a growing number of titles from library shelves, and worked to derail three bond elections that would have funded new and renovated buildings for the overcrowded district. That’s when Gore said she began to piece together connections that hadn’t been previously apparent to her. ... “I was knee-deep in it,” Gore said about the local connections to the billionaires. “I guess I was just too naive. I should have known better.” .. “It’s all about destroying the trust with the citizens to the point where they would tolerate something like doing away with public schools,” he said in an interview.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/22/texas-republican-primary-school-vouchers-choice-00159219 What’s breaking up the Texas Republican party? School vouchers Out-of-state donors are funneling millions of dollars into state legislative races to defeat Republicans who opposed the governor’s top education priority.
wheels celebrating the chance to take more money from Texas public schools to help rich people pay for private school tuition...
