Denver Judge Blocks Vouchers For Rich Christians

[Modern School]

Colorado's first school voucher program was put on ice Friday by a Denver judge who called the program a "substantial disservice to the public interest," the SF Chronicle reported today. The program would have given checks to parents in the state's wealthiest county for tuition at religious schools.

Some of the schools authorized for the voucher program require students to attend religious services.

Modern School
http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2011/08/denver-judge-blocks-vouchers-for-rich.html

[bluestateguy]

1. I know some rich Christians who are private school parents

and they oppose vouchers because vouchers would bring "undesirable elements into our school". And we know who that means.

[jwirr]

3. I know others who do not want to take the vouchers because they

do not want state interference in their school. Under no circumstances should the rich be given vouchers to pay for alternative education for their children. My two girls attended a private school for several years in the 60s even though I was poor. I paid for the same costs the other parents paid for and the church paid for the rest. That is the way it should be. We should not be expected to support alternative choices.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Is this yet another example of Republicon Socialism for the rich?

it has that certain smack about it...good on the judge for acting, um, judiciously...

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Vouchers make absolutely no sense. You do NOT pay taxes to send your kids to school.

You pay taxes to support the PUBLIC school system, whether you DIRECTLY benefit from it or not.

If you don't believe it, consider that people without children still have to pay property tax. People whose children are no longer in school pay property tax. People whose children went to school in another state pay property tax. In most districts, businesses (which have no children) pay property taxes which go to schools -- all to support the local *public* schools, because it is in society's best interest to see that ALL of its citizens have at least a minimum education, regardless of means. This is especially justified for businesses who want their potential employees to have some functional skills, and businesses should be leading the opposition to voucher plans, because they will be most hurt by them.

Now, say you live in a district with 100,000 students. If you send your 2 kids to a private school, you have reduced the cost of running the public schools by a small amount -- somewhere around 1/50,000 of the total cost -- and that fact will be reflected in a smaller budget for schools, and lower taxes for you AND EVERYONE ELSE, by about the same proportionate amount. This is the only "voucher" you are entitled to, and it is automatically created in the current process of adjusting school budgets each year to reflect enrollment trends.