On July 31, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) – one of the moderates from Maine – co-sponsored the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR) along with Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator George Voinovich (R-OH). The bill would reactivate the D.C. School Voucher program, which is in danger of being eliminated after the current crop of students graduate. All Republicans should follow Collins’ lead.
This is a program that is great for the students, their families, their neighborhoods, etc. Both parents and students are happier, and the students are a full third of a grade ahead of their D.C. public school counterparts in math after only three years, as well as ahead in reading. The program costs between one-fourth and half of the normal cost of publicly-funded education in D.C. (depending on whether you believe CATO’s numbers or the Heritage Foundation). In return, the nation receives better-educated students who will help create a larger tax base in the future while diminishing their own odds of delinquency.
This program, however, was killed by teacher’s unions, who support Democratic candidates for congressional office and our current president. These same elected officials often talk about the big money special interests hurting Americans through Washington… Officials such as President Obama, whose children go to private schools. Such a shame the same opportunity doesn’t apply to poor minorities.
In short, the program is wildly successful and popular. If we want to help future generations be safer, more economically successful and help lead this country in the 21st-century, we would be wise to follow Senator Collins and Senator Lieberman on this issue.
At the very least, we would be holding the Democrats responsible for their claims of attempted fiscal responsibility- saving between $7,500 and $20,000 per student for 1,700 students (plus future participants in the program) saves at least $12,750,000 for the taxpaying citizens of this country. And all it would take is a simple vote. Easiest $12.75 million ever saved in Washington.
5 responses so far
1 ottovbvs // Aug 3, 2009 at 3:20 pm
“which is in danger of being eliminated after the current crop of students graduate. ”
…………What do you mean “in danger of being eliminated”………..it is going to be eliminated as things now stand………This bit of flapdoodle by Lieberman et al has no chance of passage
2 balconesfault // Aug 4, 2009 at 12:14 am
I don’t get it – what we basically have is a lot of conservatives arguing that additional Federal Taxpayer Dollars should be being used to subsidize the education of kids in DC? What the hell – why just DC? Why not have more Federal Taxpayer Dollars pumped into every district in America?
And let’s face it. Vouchers may work with limited numbers of kids entering each of these $30,000+/year private schools … but when the number of voucher kids starts being a significant portion of the student body, those schools won’t be able to keep accepting $7,500/year vouchers … unless they further raise tuitions on the rest of the student body. Sidwell Friends doesn’t charge $30K/student just because that’s what the market will bear … presumably, they do so because to operate that great a facility with that excellent a faculty in a high cost area like DC, it costs $30K per student to do so.
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