Tell the Senate to stop the voucher scheme! (June 2008)

Tell your Senator: Vouchers are the wrong choice!

A voucher bill, HB 1347 by Rep. Austin Badon (D-New Orleans), will be decided by the Senate as soon as the next few days. This plan, heavily backed by Governor Bobby Jindal, would use $10 million in public funds to pay the tuition of students in private and religious schools in New Orleans.

At the same time, public education across Louisiana is being cut by $38 million. Even though it is styled as a “scholarship” plan, LFT considers this bill a voucher scheme, and urges its defeat. Money for our public schools is too scarce to divert into private educations for a few students.

Supporters say the vouchers are needed to give New Orleans parents more educational “choices” for their children. Ironically, with the vast expansion of charter schools since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans already has more parental choices available than any other city in the nation.

The real choice here is one made by a small group of politicians, and it is a bad one. They have chosen to spend public funds to advance a political and ideological agenda, instead of doing what is right for all the children of the state.

Please click the link and ask members of the Senate to vote against this voucher scheme.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Please vote AGAINST school vouchers!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Please vote against HB 1347 by Rep. Austin Badon, a school voucher bill. This scheme would divert attention from real reforms already underway in New Orleans. It does not provide real choice for parents, and it does not make economic sense given the tremendous investment already being made in New Orleans schools.

Going along with the governor on this bill will be a poor choice. We must question the wisdom of spending $10 million for an unnecessary scheme in New Orleans, while basic educational and community needs are being cut in Senate districts across the state.

This is being called a "scholarship" bill, but is, in fact, a voucher scheme by any name. Please support the Louisiana Federation of Teachers' position and vote against HB 1347.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 06, 2008

Background Information

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers strongly urges the Senate to defeat a voucher scheme that would funnel some $10 million in public funds to private and religious schools in New Orleans. If passed, HB 1347 by Rep. Austin Badon (D-New Orleans) would allow 1,500 children in New Orleans to leave public schools. The bill is heavily supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and numerous ultraconservative political organizations.

“This bill raises profound questions about the administration’s priorities,” according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan. “Are they really interested in what is best for all the children in Louisiana, or in pursuing a narrow ideological and political agenda?”

Supporters of the scheme say that vouchers are needed to give New Orleans parents more “choice” and to give children a way to escape from what they term “failing schools.” Those arguments were barely credible before the city’s destruction by Hurricane Katrina in 2005; given the changes to the city’s educational structure since the storm, those claims are simply bogus.

Choices that already exist for parents in the city include all of the schools run by the Orleans Parish School Board (17 public schools, including 12 charters), 51 schools run by the recovery district (including 20 charters, with seven more opening in the 2008-09 year), and nine charter schools operated by the Algiers Charter Association.

In the state-run Recovery District Schools, the per-pupil expenditure is about $12,900 per student, nearly double the state average. If the capital improvements, including flood-related construction, are included, the per-pupil cost rises to $32,000 per pupil in the public schools.

"An additional $10 million to help fill seats in private and religious schools in New Orleans makes very little sense," Monaghan said, "given the abundance of choice that already exists, and the unparalleled investment that is currently being made in the district."

In all of the public schools, students must take required high-stakes tests and reports must be filed documenting the school’s standing in the state accountability program, Monaghan said. If the voucher bill passes, students accepting the public funds may have to take state exams, but the test results will not determine whether the students pass or fail. Neither will voucher schools be required to reveal the same data that public schools must. Parents will not have adequate information about the private and religious schools to make a truly informed choice.

For those reasons, Monaghan said, the Federation believes that vouchers divert attention from real reforms already underway , don’t provide real choice for New Orleans parents, and don’t make economic sense given the tremendous investments being made in ongoing reforms.

“It's a poor choice if decision-makers go along with the governor on this bill,” Monaghan said. “Voters will have a right to question spending $10 million for an unnecessary scheme in New Orleans, while basic educational and community needs were cut for students and communities statewide.”