Powerful interests pushing private school voucher schemes in Texas are launching today what might be their strongest attack on neighborhood public schools in years. The Senate Education Committee is hearing public testimony on three proposed voucher bills — each one of which could end up draining billions of dollars from public education to subsidize tuition at private and religious schools.
Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller will testify at the hearing and remind senators that their responsibility under the Texas Constitution is to fund public schools, not private and religious schools. Yet the Legislature cut $5.4 billion from public education just four years ago and has yet to restore all of that funding.
Each of the bills under consideration today creates a different voucher scheme but does essentially the same thing: drain tax dollars from funding for neighborhood public schools so that the state can subsidize — directly or indirectly — private and religious schools.
SB 4 by state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and SB 642 by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would give tax breaks to corporations that donate to organizations providing “tuition grants” or “scholarships” at private and religious schools. Every dollar that funds these corporate tax loopholes would be unavailable for the state’s cash-starved public schools.
SB 276 by state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, would create so-called “taxpayer savings grants” that shift a large share of funding for a public school student over to subsidizing tuition at a private or religious school instead.
Private and religious schools getting these taxpayer subsidies would not be subject to the same rules and regulations that govern the state’s public schools. That means those voucher schools would not be accountable to the taxpayers who are funding them.
Moreover, supporters misleadingly claim that these voucher schemes will actually save taxpayer dollars or won’t take money from public schools because private donors would be using tax credits to pay for the vouchers. These claims are a charade. The reality is precisely the opposite, as Kathy and other representatives of other members of the Coalition for Public Schools will point out today.
You can watch a live-stream of the hearing here. We’re also live-tweeting the hearing: @tfn. Stay tuned.
Maybe these GOPers should read Article I, Section 7 and Article VII, Section 5 of the Texas constitution — if they can read, that is. — Edd Doerr (arlinc.org)
Shame full – so bottom line a few poor students get a scholarship and thousands of rich people get tax payer money to support their private school desires. I guess these folks are the new 47% of takers!!
Thank you.
If you want your child to go to a private school, then pay the tuition. (There are personal ways to manage the costs–be responsible) State dollars taken away from public education is not the answer except for the private businesses and religious institutions which will take the money and do whatever they want with it. At the same time, those of us who have children in public schools will see funding and opportunities vanish.