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School vouchers should not be provided for any schools. Public schools were created to provide education for all children. Communities provide the funds, via taxes, to ensure that every child can go to school. The key word in this argument is "every".

Private and parochial schools are not required to enroll every child. Who has to take those children they do not accept or ultimately suspend? The public schools. For this reason only, parochial schools should not receive additional funding. Public schools incur additional expenses by supporting mandated special education and alternative classes for kids with behavior issues. Funds should not be diverted to schools that have the pick of the litter.

Also, parochial schools are designed, by definition, to teach according to ideology. Providing funds for religious education is clearly a breach of separation of church and state. Tax funding is available to parochial schools for non-educational functions, such as transportation, at an increased expense to the taxpayer costs where I live are more than they would be if these additional children were transported to public schools because the buses must transport near-empty buses to multiple localities. It is unreasonable, if not unconstitutional, to expect the taxpayers to fund more.

Some arguments for vouchers seem compelling. The belief that, since parochial school parents pay taxes, they should be able to direct them to their desired schools, is the strongest. After all, they don't use the public schools. So why should they pay for them? But the basic concept of taxation is communal pooling of funds to benefit the public as a whole. Retirees cannot opt out of school taxes because they no longer attend school. Commuters can't choose to fund only the highways they use to get to work. The public school system is the medium for taxpayer education funding. Hence the word "public". Spreading the money around to additional schools would stretch already high tax burdens the breaking point.

Another belief bouncing around is that we have the right to choose where we send our children to school. I couldn't agree more. What we don't have the right to do is ask the public to pay extra for it. If you strongly believe your children should go to an alternative school, save up the money and sacrifice a little bit and, by all means, send them where you want.

Parochial schools should be funded by the people who believe strongly in separate educational facilities and instruction. Until parochial schools are willing to accept all children, and remove religious instruction, there is no reason for the taxpayers to provide vouchers.

Learn more about this author, Liz McGuire.
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