“Governor Kim Reynolds has proposed Senate File 159 to the Iowa Legislature, a bill that would use taxpayer money to give public school students scholarships or vouchers to be put toward private schools.”
I will keep my message short as most are very aware of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows CSD's position regarding school vouchers. Please vote NO to any support for vouchers that may be introduced during the current and future legislative sessions.
School vouchers or Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) are not about school choice, but rather about funneling public money to private entities that are able to avoid serving the needs of all students from different races, ethnicities, religions, academic abilities, behaviors, or with disabilities. In addition, most ESAs can be put off and used during the college years; this is not the intent of K-12 public school funding. If parents choose to have their children attend a private school, they should be willing to pay for it.
Here are a few points to consider:
· Public dollars should go to public schools. Taxpayer money needs to have accountability and transparency. Under a voucher system, taxpayer money would not be accounted for and up to the discretion of a student’s parents or guardian.
· Approving a limited voucher program may seem innocuous but experience tells us that this is the first foot in the door for a full-scale voucher program.
· Taxpayer dollars should be used for education that is inclusive of all students. Nonpublic and religious schools are not required to accept all students, nor to follow numerous other regulations and requirements that public schools are. The playing field is not the same in public and private schools.
· We’ve heard for several years that legislators would like to give more state supplemental aid to public schools, but the money just isn’t there. If we cannot fund public education appropriately, how is it that we can fund private schools?
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph Nelson
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Superintendent of Schools
