OT, if only you'd bother to do a bit of research. just so that you know, there are lots of ritzy high schools in Sacto, the capital of Calif, as well btw, that $60K price tag is a bargain relative to in the private hi schools in neighboring San Mateo and Santa Clara (home of siclicon valley) counties.
I read a book in graduate school called Savage Inequalities. It was written in 1991. It was a real eye opener for me reading about some of the "savage inequalities" between public schools in rich and poor districts all across America. It was hard to read at times, and made me sick to my stomach for those poor kids. Some of the conditions they endured were horrible. It's definitely worth a read, especially since we could be headed back to those disgusting times. I honestly think many people could care less, because it doesn't affect them or their kids, which is sad. Do you think guys like Trump, Abbott, and the rest of the GOP onboard to cut funding for public schools gives a damn about the kids who can't afford private schools, won't be accepted into them, or simply don't have any near them? We will be keeping those poor kids who desperately need good education from getting the same chance at life as the wealthy kids. The haves can use those vouchers for great private schools while the have nots get to go to schools in dire need of everything from smaller class sizes, qualified teachers, and upgrades on ancient facilities within that building. We already have schools using portable buildings out back to house more kids (Usually Special Ed), and many with lots of maintenance problems on heaters and A/C units. It's disgusting to me that in a country as wealthy as America that funding the education of all our children isn't something that matters to them. They know their kids, and their wealthy friends' kids can afford the best private schools. They get political kickbacks from the people running these private schools, and could care less about the kids who will suffer even more.
..and how do school voucher programs change this? They don't. They're literally coupons for the rich, paid for by the tax payers. We already know that the vast majority of those who use vouchers are wealthy people who were already sending their kids to private expensive religious schools. personally, I don't give a rats @ss where any Governors kids go to school, as long as my tax dollars are not subsidizing that rich governors private school tuition. So if Newsome wants to send his kid to a private school - great for him. At least he's not asking the tax payers to pay for it.
link should work for everyone https://www.wsj.com/articles/louisi...uxnh1tnkb5w&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink Education Reform With a Cajun Twist Louisiana becomes the 12th state to embrace universal school choice. By The Editorial Board June 19, 2024 at 5:51 pm ET The roll of states that have embraced education freedom keeps expanding. On Wednesday Gov. Jeff Landry officially made Louisiana the 12th to pass universal school choice. At Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, he signed education savings accounts into law. Called LA GATOR—for Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise—all the state’s students will ultimately be eligible for the scholarships. They will be phased in starting in 2025. The exact dollar amounts of the payments will be determined later by the state board of education. The need is undeniable. Louisiana moved up to 40th from 41st in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking released this year for pre-K to grade 12 education, but that’s still near the bottom. Only 27% of eighth-graders are proficient or above in reading and 19% in math, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. A little reform around the edges isn’t going to make much difference in the lives of those students. In signing the bill, Gov. Landry cited the gains other states have made with choice. Louisiana spends more per student than Mississippi, Florida and Texas. But the money isn’t showing up in student learning, which defies the persistent claim by unions that public schools merely need more money to succeed. “Today,” Mr. Landry told his audience, “we start our journey towards getting to No. 1.” As a candidate Mr. Landry promised his fellow Louisianans bold education reform. This week he and his Legislature delivered.
I think a lot of the problem with many voucher programs is that private schools still won't accept the students that they don't whish to have. Children with special needs, emotional issues, and behavior issues can be denied admittance because the private schools can claim that they don't have the best resources to accept those children. So they will to a public school that is getting less funding and is full of a higher percentage of students that can both get distracted from learning and are more prone to distract others from learning. It hurts the most vulnerable students.
That's the sickening part. But, leaders with no hearts or conscious, who are driven to make policies that make them money on the side don't think like us. Keep the weak man down and the wealthy on top.
again, one of the most vocal constituencies in favor of school choice/vouchers/ESAs have been black parents. see e.g., New survey shows Black parents want school choice options https://katv.com/news/nation-world/...tion-vouchers-charter-schools-open-enrollment excerpt: WASHINGTON (TND) — A new survey shows the majority of Black parents support school choice policies. Morning Consult on behalf of EdChoice, a school choice advocacy group, recently surveyed about 1,300 Black parents of school-aged children. It shows Black parents feel they are more involved in their child's education as a result of the remote learning that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. When a basic definition of each policy was provided, 79% of Black parents supported vouchers, 74% supported charter schools, and 78% supported open enrollment. Roughly three in four Black parents (78%) support education savings accounts, which are becoming increasingly popular across the country. more at the link
in case anyone suspects that study is biased . . . here's another study HOBBY SCHOOL SURVEY GAUGES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL VOUCHERS A Majority of Texans Back Some Form of Taxpayer Support for Private Schools https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/...ng Independent,was high among Black Democrats. excerpt: A majority of Texans say they support some form of taxpayer-funded assistance for parents who want to send their children to religious or other private schools. The topic is expected to be one of the most contentious before the Texas Legislature this session, and the latest survey of public opinion by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston sheds light on public attitudes about proposals dealing with school vouchers or other forms of taxpayer support for parents to send their children to private schools. Sixty-one percent of Texans said they support providing tax-funded vouchers to low-income parents, while 53% approve of vouchers for all parents. A related proposal to limit vouchers to low-income families in the six most populous urban counties drew support from 53% of Texans. more at the link
So, all of the students that are least likely to benefit from instruction focused mostly on academics are concentrated in one place that can more strongly focus on behavior and the rest of the students are not dragged down by them and allowed to focus on their education? And this is a bad thing?
All students should have an equitable opportunity to learn. It isn't just behavior. There are plenty of special needs that aren't just behavior. Forcing students that need more accommodations to a school with fewer resources is absolutely a bad thing.
The beauty of school choice is you could have a school that is absolutely the best school for kids with special needs and the kids with special needs could go to that school that has all the accommodations they require and can cater to exactly the style of education best suited for them. You can do that instead of having to rely on whatever local public school you happen to live near to be able to make those accommodations. You can have schools that focus on the most rigorous possible academic standards and have no particular accommodations for people with special needs, people with behavioral issues, or whatever else. You could have schools that focus on providing a broad-based cultural education with tons of art and music and theater that is less concerned with being at the bleeding edge of the highest AP and SAT/ACT scores. Then you can let the parents decide which school is best for their child.
That would never happen. Those schools will have lower test scores and folks won't send other students to those schools. Right now the prevelant thought is that most students with special needs do better when they are taught in mainstream classrooms. So they may need some accommodations and some extra resources, but they also need to learn in mainstream classrooms.
I'm cool with that *if* tuition is waved for people below a certain income level. And transportation is provided for free since the best privavte schools are usually located far away from low income students. Sound fair now?
You use the voucher to pay the tuition, that is the point of the voucher. Instead of your portion of tax funded education going to public school A, it goes to private school B. Most private schools have annual tuition much lower than the per pupil spending at public schools. Certainly, whatever public school transportation costs were allotted to each student should also be transferrable to private school transportation.
Most vouchers don't cover half of the better private school tuitions. So a low-income person wouldn't be able to afford sending their child to those private schools. Let alone multiple children. And transportation costs are not included in the school vouchers. Face it... school vouchers only benefit the well-off people. That's why the majority of people taking advantage of school vouchers are people who already have their kids in private school.
The Texas voucher would offer up to $8,000 per family for tuition, books, uniforms and transportation. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/12/texas-senate-school-vouchers-special-session/ Now look at the average tuition for private schools... Average private school costs in Houston: https://generalacademic.com/houston-private-school-tuition-2023-2024/ How are lower-income families going to send their kids to private schools?
The average is skewed by having very expensive schools at $50,000 or more tuition. C.R.O.S.S. Academies (Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Parochial Schools) have tuition for 1 child for a family making between $35,000 and $69,999 at $3,550. Tuition Assistance Calculator - Choose Catholic Schools - Houston, TX So, an $8,000 per student voucher would more than cover all of tuition plus books, uniforms, and whatever other expenses are associated. I don't know how much it costs to bus a kid to school in Houston. In my area students can get $40 monthly bus passes for unlimited rides. I can't imagine it would be much more costly in Texas.
Wilks also head the Assembly of Yahweh cult. Their family side business. On the flipside you have the owners of HEB who are against school vouchers. People who run their business with christian values instead of telling or trying to force upon others what they deem christian values to be.
