Admittingly, could be stirring up a hornets nest.

[Anonymous]

Nope. Didn't support them before COVID and don't support them now.

[Anonymous]

By the end of this pandemic, most public schools will have been mostly or completely closed to in-person learning for a year or more. Vouchers aren't killing public education, the pandemic already did that.

In our globalized worlds, there will be more pandemics to come. Education is changing fundamentally, and permanently, right before our eyes. The haves will find a way for their children to learn and succeed. The have nots will beg their government for vouchers, and get shot down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Didn't support them before COVID and don't support them now.

+1

Vouchers don't create good private school slots. Plus, I think there is real value in public education. Other countries manage to do it; the fact that it has the issues it does in this country is 100 percent our choice.

[Anonymous]

Vouchers are fine if you force charters and privates to accept ALL students, not just the easiest and cheapest to educate. Otherwise, no.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Now that I realize FCPS’s push for equity means they try for the lowest common denominator and if one school can’t teach or make their ratios work, none of the 180K students will be taught, I am completely in favor of vouchers. And I used to be vehemently opposed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with vouchers is that people think for example that if a district spends on average $10,000 per child that parents should get that amount of money. In actuality in public schools educating over half of kids takes only $5,000 because many kids take 15,000 or 20,000 or even 100,000 to educate every year. It isn't fair when charter schools or schools with vouchers take all the students who are easy to educate and leave public neighborhood schools with the most difficult and costly students to educate. Charter schools and private schools that accept vouchers in other parts of the country don't take emotionally disturbed kids who need one to one aides or residential care, they don't take newcomers who just immigrated, they don't take a student with autism who is nonverbal, they won't take a deaf student who needs an adult to provide translation services for every class (that is about 50- 75,000 a year once you factor in benefits.)

that depends on the state (and how much whoever passes the voucher program wants to punish local schools)

https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/voucher-law-comparison.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They still feel like giving up on public education to me, but yeah, I’ve had days where I wish the school district would just give me a check so I could use it to pay for in-person at a private. It wouldn’t solve the larger problems in the district, but it would solve my specific problem right now.

if you're in FCPS, it's possible you live in a great district, but it's also possible that you live in a district where the county has given up. I see no problem with giving a kid in MVHS whatever the county spends on them as a voucher

[Anonymous]

Yup I'm now for them. I would like to gl have more choices for charters and not be obliged to teachers union at all

[Anonymous]

It hasn't changed my mind on vouchers, but has potentially changed my mind on where I would send my own children. I believe the Government has a role to provide baseline education to children. They should make it their goal to educate "the masses." This means they should teach to the middle. If they need to give other support, I think it should go to the ones on the bottom. From a societal perspective, we gain more when the government does this. I still believe all this. But the pandemic has made it more clear that my childrens needs might not be met by public school. My kids just need more, but I don't think it is the governments responsibility to provide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It hasn't changed my mind on vouchers, but has potentially changed my mind on where I would send my own children. I believe the Government has a role to provide baseline education to children. They should make it their goal to educate "the masses." This means they should teach to the middle. If they need to give other support, I think it should go to the ones on the bottom. From a societal perspective, we gain more when the government does this. I still believe all this. But the pandemic has made it more clear that my childrens needs might not be met by public school. My kids just need more, but I don't think it is the governments responsibility to provide.

We would still be in public school if they taught the basics. As it is, we have to pay for private school for grammar, spelling, geography, writing instruction, and the "privilege" of having textbooks and workbooks.

As far as the cost per student figures go, my kids were as low as it gets. They demanded nothing from the school other than seats in a General Ed classroom and a bare minimum of attention from their teachers. No transportation, no services. I'd gladly take the $3K or $4K per child or whatever it works out to be and apply it to our Catholic school tuition.

[Anonymous]

This is kind of a moot conversation. Good luck in finding any significant number of open slots in private schools!

[Anonymous]

No, I still don't support them. I do, however, think there should be more specialized schools at all levels.

For ES, MS, and HS there should be a
- T.J. school
- an arts school (more like Duke Ellington in D.C.)
- sports\athletics
- culinary arts
- vocational
- language immersion
- therapeutic
- wilderness\outdoorsy

I'm sure other posters can think of more.

And if none of the above happens or isn't feasible: I think with the advent of DL then AAP programs, TJ, ect should open up to everyone that wants to attend. If the student doesn't get a spot in the program, then they can still participate through DL.

[Anonymous]

Nope. Not even a speck.

[Anonymous]

No. Vouchers are bad for public schools. Bad public schools means property values go down. Nobody should want this.

[Anonymous]

Vouchers give tax dollars to MC and UMC families to have a tuition break, and won't help those who most need it, because they still won't be able to afford private. Just drains money from our public schools.