SCHOOL VOUCHERS

[Auburn85 432]

What's your take on this?

The public schools seem to never have enough money. A property tax hike is going to be on the ballot soon.

Carlinda Purcell, the Montgomery Superintendent just spent $250,000 of additional revenue by replacing 1 person with 3.

If they really want to do everything they can in the best interest of the CHILDREN, then give them the option of going to any school that they desire. I think School Vouchers would work.

[Piglet 0]

I gotta look at your local school budget before I can really comment. Some places are efficient with their funds, and some aren't.

Seems to me that if a particular school ain't making it, they oughta either do what it takes to fix it, or shut it down entirely, not just give some parents the chance to opt out of the school.

[DKW 86 7,425]

Piglet, vouchers are the mechanism for that. What you suggest just wont happen. Give the parents vouchers and you will see them voting with their feet.

It is amazing, all these pols send their kids to private schools, of course they are totaly against any of us sending our kids there.

[Auburn85 432]

I just wonder where public schools would be without Private schools

[Piglet 0]

Now, if government officials all had to send their kids to public schools as a condition of the job, I'll bet the public schools would get up to standard pretty darn quick!

[mcgufcm 4,096]

i hate private education, and i don't think a single dollar of government money: local, state, or federal, should be spent on it. if a certain group of parents want to pay to maintain a school for their children to attend, you can't stop them, but no public money should be wasted on a private school when it could be spent increasing the quality of the public educational system.

and for the record, i attended a private academy for five years when i was a child until i was old enough to make my own choice and since then i've attended a public middle school, high school, college, and i'm only applying to public law schools.

[Auburn85 432]

What about all the parents that want to get their child out of a dangerous environment? Disruptive behavior is in the class taking away from learning time.

Because lets face it, most( probably around 75-80%) of the children in private schools are well off.

And what about magnet schools? Should we get rid of them too?

[mcgufcm 4,096]

i never said you should get rid of private schools. i just said government should have NOTHING to do with them. i don't care if you call it an academy, a jesuit school, a magnet school, etc. as long as it isn't a public educational facility, the government shouldn't give it a dime.

i understand that some areas have terrible public schools. i'm from mississippi for God's sake; believe me, we have more than our fair share of AWFUL public schools. however, i also know that if those same schools had better students; they would be more likely to attract better teachers. and if more government money (from any level) was given to fund newer books, higher salaries (for teachers not necessarily administrators), and improved facilities that would increase the quality of the educational experience as a whole. i also think government funding should be allocated by need so that schools in the mississippi delta and inner city chicago and the like get more money for improvement b/c they NEED IT MORE.

the fact is private education is for the wealthy or the elite in some way (specific religion, high aptitude, whatever), and public education is for the benefit of everyone. there's nothing wrong with private education unless it starts detracting from public education. sending a child to a private school is a decision that a parent has, but if they make that decision, they should forgo the benefit of the public money they give out as part of taxes.

[Auburn85 432]

I thought public schools would be happy with this because it helps ease overcrowding

[mcgufcm 4,096]

give 'em more money to expand facilities, and they wouldn't be overcrowded.

[DKW 86 7,425]

Sending more money does not cure the bad teacher/ no discipline problems though.

[Auburn85 432]

I think its amazing how some of the baby-boomers managed to get through public schools when they still had outhouses and had to pay for their books.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

no programs like teach for america which president bush has cut drastically is a great creative way to cure the bad teacher program, but we'd rather divert that funding to vouchers available to all. and the discipline is something that's learned. which means it can be unlearned. also i can assure you there are discipline problems at private schools as well. when i was at SA (private school) i was sent to the principal's office at least 4 times in 5 years. not once did i earn that same trip during my years in the public school system. granted i grew up and stopped screwing around, but the point is there are always going to be distractions.

[Auburn85 432]

this just in..... schools never have enough money.

You could give them a trillion and they find a way to need for money for the "chilldren" about 5 years later

And there's no money to expand facilities with the great need for police presence at schools

[Piglet 0]

this just in..... schools never have enough money.

That's why I want to look at their budget before approving more. If a school is making efficient use of what it has, and it's still not enough, maybe more money really is needed. Especially in places like Atlanta suburbs where the population is skyrocketing.

If they're wasting their funds, don't give more money. Reallocate it.

Seems to me, every school in America needs to have a computer system. Kids need to learn computers because that's where the career opportunities of the future are, for everything from design to programming to office assistants. That takes money.

The Three Rs, it's hard to see how you need a budget increase to keep up with that.

And it sure is nice to have good sports teams, a band, and a drama club---should funds for that be in the budget? Dependent on booster clubs and fund raising within the district? Do without until after the education essentials are paid for? Reasonable folks could differ on that. That's why there oughta be some decisionmaking authority left within individual districts. The needs of districts in Towns County and Gwinnett County are gonna be way different, and having the Feds stick their oar in to make everything the same nationwide is asking for trouble.

[Auburn85 432]

It's the Montgomery County School System in Alabama