Religious School Vouchers in JeffCo?...I don't think so....

SS109 wrote:

navycpo7 wrote: As I do not live in Jeffco, I do not vote there.. But my question is why should the taxpayer have to support something that use to be the responsibility of the parents. If you wanted your kids to go to a private school then they paid for it. It was thier choice so they had to pay. Why should others pay for the choices made by parents that what to send thier kids to private schools. Everyone talks about to much government involved in ours lives what makes this different. If this was in my county I would vote against it. We deal with the choices we make every day. this is no different

We give people money for food to prevent them from starving, why not help them out with a little money so they can get a superior education? The education will last longer than the food stamps or the school lunches.

My point here is more, right now there are vouchers or I think the politically correct term is free lunches, breakfasts, etc. The systems themselves are taxed almost to the limit. So if this happens does it bankrupt the system, or does the public school system suffer because of the vouchers. Or does anyone that is "in the know" actually know what will really happen.

navycpo7 wrote: As I do not live in Jeffco, I do not vote there.. But my question is why should the taxpayer have to support something that use to be the responsibility of the parents. If you wanted your kids to go to a private school then they paid for it. It was thier choice so they had to pay. Why should others pay for the choices made by parents that what to send thier kids to private schools. Everyone talks about to much government involved in ours lives what makes this different. If this was in my county I would vote against it. We deal with the choices we make every day. this is no different

Vouchers are not up for discussion in the district, it's just an election time scare tactic by those that have nothing to offer but the same old crappy administration of our schools.

But, if they were on the ballot I would vote for them. Why? Because I want to see public school perform better. Right now there's no level field for competition. Public schools think "Fine, take your kids to private school, we get the money for them anyway".

There is no incentive for them to listen to the parents. They can play their new cirriculum games all they want, as long as they score well on CSAPs.

But, if parents were able to transfer their kids to a school of their choice and take their money with them, the schools would have to listen to what the parents want. I want a math cirriculum that requires memorization of the times tables. I've had teachers tell me that's not important - they'll get it through repition in higher grades. I want them to be instructed on the commonly accepted way to solve mathc problems, not left to 'discover' their own way of doing things.

If a population in a district is very religious, why shouldn't those parents be allowed to send their kids to a religious school, taking their allocation of tax dollars along? It's the parents that decide what's best for their kids, not someone that simply writes a check to the county because they own some property.

Basically, I know what my kids need, you don't. If I wanted a religious school for my kids, and believed that was the best method to teach them, why should I be forced to support a non-religious school with my tax dollars??

My point here is more, right now there are vouchers or I think the politically correct term is free lunches, breakfasts, etc. The systems themselves are taxed almost to the limit. So if this happens does it bankrupt the system, or does the public school system suffer because of the vouchers. Or does anyone that is "in the know" actually know what will really happen.

What? Not sure what your saying here- vouchers are not for lunch or breakfasts, they pay the tuition for education. Right now there is no voucher program in Jeffco schools. I know (actually) what will happen if vouchers are put in place.

or does the public school system suffer because of the vouchers.

Nothing at all will happen to the public school system with a voucher program IF.....
the schools actually do a good job. Nothing will happen, the effect will be zero.

However- a voucher system gives parents a choice, and if the public system is not doing a good job- parents can take their kid (and a voucher) and attend a school that does do a good job. A bad public school will suffer- and a good one will not!

I have four niece's - two brothers with 2 kids each. My youngest brother has his girls in private schools- he pays double for this- first he pays his taxes for public schools, then he pays tuition to the private schools. Right now- one girl attends a lutheran school, and the other attends a catholic school. They are struggling to pay for these in addition to everything else, but they know that the education they get is superior to the public option.

My youngest brother could really use a voucher to take up some of the financial burden of the kids education.

My other brother has his two girls in public school. He can not afford to pay for both public school taxes and private tuition to send his girls to a private school. A voucher system would make the difference for him, he would be able to send his kids to the better schools. A voucher probably would not cover all the costs of a private school, but it would go a long way in helping out.

So in my family- a voucher system would be a win-win. Like I said, I don't give a crap about the public school system or the teachers union, I care about my four nieces- and I care that they get the best education possible.

Isn't the voucher system based on 50% going to the public school district and the other 50% available for the selected school? It would seem the public schools should support it since, as Dire Straits says "Money For Nothin'" and that is what the school district is really good at after all.

I dont know the exact figures but I think you are right- the value of the voucher usually does not come close to the total amount that the public school gets per student. In Jeffco- the school district collects about $11,500 per student per year and I don't think the voucher will be worth that.

Even with the voucher system, the school gets money for nothing.

HEARTLESS wrote: Isn't the voucher system based on 50% going to the public school district and the other 50% available for the selected school? It would seem the public schools should support it since, as Dire Straits says "Money For Nothin'" and that is what the school district is really good at after all.

If there's no vouchers, they get 100% when a parent sends their kids to private school. Plus, right now they have a complete lack of fair competition. They fight vouchers because they know how inefficient they really are.

Good points, government subsidized monopoly.

If LJ is against it...that's all I need to know to be for it.

Amazing that the right is on favor of vouchers...its welfare for the wealthy and middle class...taxpayer dollars going to assist only those who can afford to pay for private school..even with a voucher private school is out of reach for many families.

archer wrote: Amazing that the right is on favor of vouchers...its welfare for the wealthy and middle class...taxpayer dollars going to assist only those who can afford to pay for private school..even with a voucher private school is out of reach for many families.

Welfare? you've got to be kidding. Welfare puts people at the mercy of the government, increasing that government's power. Vouchers would represent a county government's release of power into the hands of the parents... where it belongs.