I don't think Mr. Griffith or a lot of others, have a clear picture of how
tight money is in the homes of poor families. In order for kids to take
advantage of private schools, they need more than tuition. Every program,
every outing, every event costs money, both for the kids to get in and for
clothes and other accoutrements. With only one kid to put through school,
it means a lot of rice and beans for the whole family so one kid can go to
private school. If one has two or three kids, it's so far beyond impossible
that it's not even funny.
What a voucher does, is use tax payers' money to fund private schools. If
my kids are in public school and I'm paying to send those families with a
little more money to private school, then my kid is automatically being
cheated, cause the public schools lose the money. Not to mention if these
private schools are also parochial schools, then we get into questions of
the separation of church and state. That's a really important principle we
need to keep intact.
No matter how you slice it, vouchers do not support the greater good for the
greater many.
Wizard Marks, Central
Clark C. Griffith wrote:
> Vouchers make an enormous difference for poor kids. All private schools
> have scholarship programs for kids who are bright and not able to afford
> the tuition. A voucher program allows an expansion of the scholarships
> to admit a significantly larger number of kids. These schools want all
> the brightest kids.
> Vouchers also place a lot of money in the market so that other private
> schools can be created. For example, with vouchers, a local Muslim
> group may be able to create their own school. The possibilities are
> enormous; the program is sound.
> Clark Griffith
> 7th Ward
