Don't be fooled by 'school choice'

The rhetoric is already beginning to flow, but don't let the words and warped reasoning take you in.

The Legislature and the governor are already beginning to broach the subject of school choice and along with it what they won't mention but what it entails – vouchers. Gov. Mark Sanford has already said that he wants to pursue last year's idea of tax credits for those who home school their children or who put children into private schools.

Speaker of the House David Wilkins said last week that this is one of the matters the House will take up when it convenes in January.

There is nothing wrong with school choice. Parents have that today without any further legislation out of Columbia. If parents want to home school their children, they are entitled to do that. If they desire to put their children into private schools, they may do so.

The problem comes when public money is used to pay for non-public purposes. One of the primary mandates of state government is to provide for the education of our young citizens – our next generation of workers and leaders.

If legislators believe that the present system is not working, it is up to them to come up with a what they consider a more workable public education system rather than funneling taxpayer money into private hands. Taxpayers are getting accountability for money that goes into public schools. Where is the accountability for the money that is being considered to go into private hands?

Many of those who are favoring putting money into this "school choice" plan contend that it will not harm public schools nor cut their funds. Any taxpayer funds, however, that go to private individuals or institutions will reduce the amount of money available for the state budget – including the money for the education system the state Legislature is funding.

Many demands have been placed on South Carolina's public schools in recent years. From state-legislated accountability to the federally-mandated No Child Left Behind law, schools are expected to produce better results with fewer resources than ever before. So far our state government's idea for improvement has been to provide less money for public schools, then question their success.

Parents should have the opportunity to send their children to the type of school they prefer. But the state government should not begin a precedent of spending taxpayer money for private education choices.

Copyright © 2003, The Aiken Standard