Lorenz: Vouchers are bad for students and the future of Iowa schools
Vouchers are Bad for Students and the Future of Iowa’s Schools
During her recent Condition of the State address, Governor Reynold’s doubled down on her push to use public tax dollars to subsidize private school tuitions. As a means of promoting school choice, she recommended the state contribute significant sums to educational savings accounts that parents could use to send their kids to private or parochial schools. I struggle with this proposal because it would divert scarce resources away from our students to private institutions that have little accountability, less transparency, and no mandate to serve all kids regardless of their race, religion, socio-economic status, or abilities.
I am sure that private schools are an acceptable alternative for some families, but I don’t want my tax dollars to pay for them any more than I want to subsidize country club memberships for people who prefer to use their facilities over public parks and swimming pools. Taxes are supposed to be levied to fund essential services that benefit all citizens. There is no public purpose or greater good that is served by paying for country club memberships or private school tuitions. On the contrary, vouchers create two competing systems that draw resources away from the vast majority of students. They pit private and public schools against one another on a playing field that is already slanted.
This is to say that private schools are not required to play by the same rules as public schools. Private schools aren’t governed by publicly elected school boards. They aren’t required to have public budget hearings and aren’t limited in their use of funds. They aren’t subject to open meeting laws or records requirements. They aren’t bound by state accreditation or “offer and teach” requirements. They aren’t required to administer standardized tests, share student outcomes, or report student achievement gaps. Finally, private schools aren’t obligated to serve all students. Unlike their public counterparts, private schools can pick and choose who they accept: they can refuse enrollment based on special student needs and they can expel students for not meeting their academic expectations. Ultimately, private schools are not held to the same standards of oversight, transparency, accountability, enrollment, or services as public schools.
To say that educational savings accounts or private school vouchers are necessary to ensure school choice is a hollow claim. Iowans already have more school choice than most states. In addition to strong public schools, we have unfettered open enrollment policies, a growing number of virtual academies, permissive home school and private instruction options, charter schools, and School Tuition Organization tax credits for children attending private schools. Even before the expansion of charter schools, private and home school tax credits, and the removal of open enrollment deadlines, the Heritage Foundation’s Education Freedom Report Card, ranked Iowa 9th in the country in terms of school choice options.
In reality, this voucher proposal would do little to enhance school choice. Almost 75% of Iowa’s public schools are located in rural areas with little or no access to private schools. We have no private schools in Montgomery County and only a handful in Southwest Iowa. It is extremely unlikely that private schools would start up in areas such as ours that are already experiencing declining enrollment. Thus, most Iowa families would be excluded from the program simply by nature of their location.
Even if they did have access to private schools, many families could not afford to send their kids to one. According to the Private School Review website, the average cost of private high school tuition in Iowa is $9,208 per year. With the state subsidy of $7,598 proposed by the Governor, families would still need to come up with over $1,600 per child per year. This does not include transportation costs, meals, uniforms, textbook fees, supplies, and other related expenses. In light of this, it appears the real winners of the Governor’s proposal would be families with financial means who already send their children to private schools. The losers would be public schools and the students they serve.
While Nebraska’s governor is calling for $2.5 billion in new funding for K-12 public schools by 2029-30, Governor Reynolds is proposing we funnel $1.9 billion to private schools during the same period. These are funds that will not be allocated to schools serving 90% of the students in Iowa. The cost of Governor Reynold’s voucher program coupled with historic tax cuts that will lower state revenues by $1.8 billion per year will make it increasingly difficult for the state to provide adequate funding for public education. We will be lucky to see the same meager increases we have experienced the last ten years.
The bucket is only so big and, when you start punching holes in it, the contents drain quickly. The effects of this leaking bucket will be disproportionately felt by rural districts that are already cutting programs and staff due to declining enrollment and state funding that has not kept pace with inflation. Rural residents will be forced to plug the holes in the bucket by paying more in local property taxes to make up for the shortfalls in the state aid formula.
Make no mistake, your children and grandchildren will be harmed by the Governor’s proposal. While more money will go towards private schools serving 6%-7% of Iowa’s students, much less will be allocated to public school districts that serve the overwhelming majority of young people in our state. There is only so much schools can do to offset minimal state funding. We need resources to provide students the programs and opportunities they deserve. These resources will not be available if vouchers come to pass.
Ultimately, I believe that parents should have the choice to enroll their children in private schools, but not at the expense of public schools or rural communities. Public tax dollars should be used to fund public schools that are held to the same standards, accountable to local stakeholders, and open to all students. They should not be used to sponsor a privileged minority that has the Governor’s ear.
This proposal is being fast tracked and will likely be voted on in the Iowa House next week. Please contact your legislators and make your voice heard regarding this matter.
Ron Lorenz
Superintendent, Red Oak Community Schools