Reply to Article about school vouchers WaPo

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion about the gap between the $ offered by the vouchers and the price of tuition at most privates.  [b]It doesn't even cover Catholic school tuition,[/b] much less Sidwell, GDS, etc.  So the privates are still putting up a large amount of scholarship money, or the kid can't enroll.

We know a few older siblings of my kid's DCPS classmates who are going to private using this voucher, and are happy to do so.  But the private school is still covering the difference between the voucher and tuition with a scholarship and bearing the bulk of the financial aid to the family.  And if they hadn't done so, the family would not be able to cover the tuition.

It seems like DeVos is trying to show that with vouchers you can attend any school you want to, and it is just not so.  [/quote]

[b]Wrong.  Please investigate further.[/b][/quote]

PP here. I meant the vouchers don't cover tuition at [b]ALL[/b] the Catholic schools in the voucher program. Holy Trinity in Georgetown charges [b]$17,700[/b] for non-Catholic/out of diocese, Visitation is [b]$29,200 [/b], Gonzaga and St. John's = [b]$22,100[/b], St. Anslem's is [b]$27,000[/b], St. Peters on Cap Hill is [b]$14,000[/b] for Catholics, St. Augustine is [b]$13,500[/b].

These amounts are [u]just tuition[/u]. I didn't include application fees, academic admissions testing, books, supplies, uniforms, aftercare, or transportation. Even if tuition is covered by the voucher, it's up to each school to decide which of the other fees might be paid with voucher funds.

Remember, the [u]maximum[/u] voucher amounts for the lowest-income families are $8,653 for K-8 and $12,981 for 9th-12th.

Vouchers CANNOT be used for any of the following:

Late Fees (even though vouchers are issued 2 or 3 times a year, not all upfront)
Parent participation and/or fundraising fees
Penalties for student behavior
Basic school supplies
Computers
Personal transportation
Other items not related to academic success
Other fees your school has determined are not billable to your student's scholarship

Bottom line: The voucher system as it's set up is a bait-and-switch. It promises parent choice, but some of the options are completely out of reach. It targets kids at certain schools with -- again -- no way for parents to accurately compare the safety and effectiveness of the limited number of schools they [i]might[/i] be able to afford.

Some high-cost schools [b]claim[/b] to have voucher students, but we just have to take their word for it because there is no real oversight of the program.

Here's an analogy: food choices. All parents want their kids to have "healthy" food. WIC funds can pay for cereal. Standardized nutrition and ingredients labeling lets parents choose between nut- free or high protein or low calorie or your kid's favorite that you know they'll eat consistently.

Now imagine that some of the options are organic, no artificial colors, flavors, high protein, whole grain and $10 a box. Others are $3 but lack a full list of ingredients (could be nuts). A few are 99 cents a pound, but no expiration or manufacturer listed. Even if you find the perfect cereal for your child, it may be only available at a store two bus rides away.

Bottom line: public money = public oversight

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