Hey, the new Phi Delta Kappa education survey is out! And guess what? It says most Americans oppose voucher programs. Oh boy!

Now wait a minute. Don’t confuse me for someone who loves to bash public education. My wife and I are huge public education supporters involved in PTA, tutoring, mentoring and super involved with the schools our children attend. We didn’t send any of our kids to a private or religious school because we couldn’t afford. And because I believe our children need to learn how to be solid Christians within the context of the real world. We’ve been very fortunate to have wonderful magnet schools in Pinellas County. All of our kids attended or are attending rigorous IB programs and advanced math and science programs. They’re smart, involved, work hard and are getting a first rate education in our public schools with first rate teachers.

So you can imagine how surprised some of my education friends were when I told them I was in favor of vouchers. As a reporter who covers the education beat I’ve covered a ton of stories about the best and worst schools. Let me tell you, all schools are not created equal. Whether it’s economics or location or leadership, some schools just plain stink. Some schools can’t get their parents involved, can’t raise a dime in a fundraiser, can’t get a handle on discipline, or don’t seem to have the kind of passionate staff that inspires all children to learn up to their abilities. And it isn’t always money given that all school districts are under mandates to make sure all of their schools are properly funded on a per student basis.

In my mind vouchers are a God send for parents, most of them from poor neighborhoods, who feel their kids are trapped in low performing schools. I’ve interviewed a dozen parents who took part in voucher programs. Ten of the 12 are delighted with the experience because, in the words of one of the moms, “…for the first time my son feels like he’s someone special. He got more attention in the first week of school than he got all last year at ---------- elementary.”

Here’s another comment. “ Antwon was always labeled as a trouble maker. At ----------- he’s been the honor student of the month five times.”

And another. “We never would have been able to afford this kind of school. Danya is doing so well. Her new friends have accepted her with open arms even though we don’t live like their parents.”

And another. “Thomas is getting all A’s and B’s now. His fourth grader teacher at --------- used to tell us he just wasn’t capable of those kind of grades.”

The two families that left the voucher program were happy with the schools but their children missed their old friends.

For most of these families vouchers produced results. Still, the beauty of vouchers is simply the threat they hold over the traditional public school system. It’s called accountability and competition. If you are the only game in town you tend to get complacent. If parents don’t have any choice about the schools their kids attend parents themselves get complacent.

Vouchers also require some kind of measurable achievement criteria for schools. If schools don’t meet the criteria two out of four years than vouchers are offered to parents so they can escape their low performing school. What’s wrong with that? Accountability drives all schools to higher levels of achievement. Isn’t that the way it works at your job? You put together a substandard product your company is going to go under. Schools should be no different.

Now back to the survey. Like all surveys this one is flawed BIG TIME. It doesn’t use the word voucher because pollsters thought that word was too emotional charged. So instead the poll describes vouchers as “a program that allows students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense.” AT PUBLIC EXPENSE? Gee, that phrase isn’t too hot for Gallup. How about you say “ a program that takes the money that is allocated for your child to attend public school and gives it to a private school of your own choosing.” It’s not extra dollars and it’s not taking money away from any other child. It says the low performing school isn’t using that money to provide a decent education for your child and now you can go shopping because after 4 years your child’s assigned school ain’t cutting it. What’s unfair about that?

The numbers say 38 percent favor vouchers, which is down from 46 percent last year. The survey is divided on whether student achievement will improve with the use of vouchers. Most Americans also believe---59 percent---that vouchers will not affect the achievement of public school students.

But here’s the statistic that tells the real story. Given a full-tuition voucher, 62 percent say they would send their child to a private school. And even if they were just given a half-tuition voucher 51 percent would choose a private school. The notion is that all private or religious schools are better than our public schools. We know that isn’t true. What’s the phrase, perception is reality?

Right or wrong, if all things were equal most parents would still chose a private or religious school for their kids over public schools. That’s the warning bell that educators must pay attention to. Vouchers, as they are being used now, will never draw huge numbers. This is not the magic pill. This is not a conspiracy to dump the public school system. In fact, the voucher debate is good for public education because, in the words of political strategist, Grover Norquist, “We win just by debating school choice, because the alternative is to discuss the need to spend more money..” (AP 8/21/03)

Voucher opponents need to chill for a minute. The real enemy is the entire funding mechanism for education. The enemy is a salary schedule that treats a lot of teachers like grocery store bag boys. The enemy is state legislators that want to keep schools strapped to budgets developed in the 1950’s. And the enemy is the general public that wants superior results without exerting the financial muscle to pull it off.

It’s one thing for the public to say as they did in this survey “we all think teachers salaries are too low,” and quite another to say, “Here’s my wallet. Take what you need!”

Al Ruechel, Copyright 2003, All Rights Reserved

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