A recent Supreme Court ruling on a Montana scholarship program decided that states that subsidize private schools cannot discriminate against those that have a religious affiliation.
Public funds should never be used to support private entities, regardless of any religious affiliation. Competition should, under a free market economy, control the viability of any private enterprise. If a private school cannot exist without taxpayer-funded subsidies, it should not exist.
The private sector by definition is not under public control. Without public oversight, there is no accountability. Blindly giving money to a private school without required standards of performance would be “blind faith” — pun intended — similar to a state contracting a private company to repair roads without any preexisting agreement regarding quality or structure. Private schools should not receive public money without accountability.
Government funding should not subsidize a competing private enterprise. This is comparable to funding the military while also paying for a mercenary army. We don’t give recruits the choice between a public or private army. We should not allow funding for students to attend private schools.
Private schools predate the creation of public schools in America. Education during colonial times and the early years of the republic was reserved for the upper-class with few exceptions. Public schools were developed to create a more equal society with the hope that people of all classes would have access to education. Private schools at all levels have always reflected student populations with more economic privilege. Sending public money to private schools only widens this income disparity. Preserving access to education for children of all income levels has become a responsibility for each state.
Private schools at all levels exist today as a means for parents to control the peer group of their children, with students who attend those schools coming from primarily upper- and middle-class homes. The Montana lawsuit began because a parent did not have the financial means to enable the change from a public to private religious school.
Lower-income families are overwhelmingly underrepresented in the number of students enrolled in private schools, and vouchers will not greatly increase this number. That’s because the primary beneficiaries of vouchers and tax breaks are upper- and middle-class families.
Adding to the income advantage of those families, it does little to deter the preservation of the exclusionary environment of private schools. Income will still limit enrollment to those who can afford the tuition and fees required by private schools, along with the ability to provide transportation to school each day.
Private school admission standards and/or requirements will continue to limit enrollment of students from lower-income families. That said, there have always been exceptions for low-income students who exhibit outstanding talent, particularly athletic, to receive tuition and fee reductions from the school or private sources. A private school always has the choice to lower its costs for any student. Private school funds, not state funds, should be used to subsidize low-income students.
Educational choice entails only a change in peer group. Curriculum and instructional differences between public, charter or private schools are minimal. It is not a question of the quality of teachers and administrators in private schools. Many times, they are passed over by the public system and paid less than public school educators.
The issue is all about the exclusion of students who lack perceived ability or character. Competition exists only over the recruitment of students. Performance differences are contingent on the test-taking ability of the student body.
Anyone who believes that just by title, private and charter schools are superior to public schools has been brainwashed. There is no evidence that charter and private schools perform more effectively (as measured by standardized test scores) than public schools after accounting for demographics of the student body.
Parents have the right to choose a religious private school for their children but should pay for that choice. This Supreme Court ruling may result in the expansion of vouchers and tax credits for private schools, which will be at the expense of public schools.
It will be interesting to observe the public reaction when Islamic schools receive subsidies from state vouchers and tax credits.
Greg Wieman is retired after a 38-year career in public education in which his roles included teacher, coach, principal and superintendent. He holds a doctoral degree in education from Eastern Michigan University. He can be reached at [email protected].