Time for the State Board to Offer School Vouchers

The State Board of Education recently reported that taxpayers were charged $8,279 per student for public schools last year, but not a single school in the Nampa or Caldwell Districts made adequate yearly progress. When was the last time you spent this much money on a defective product and didn’t demand a full refund?

There is something deeply immoral about the government charging taxpayers this kind of money and forcing parents to send their children to failing schools. Clearly the current system of granting monopolies to districts has failed Idaho’s students and taxpayers. When district schools fail to provide adequate education, they don’t go out of business; they use their failure as evidence that they need bigger budgets and more staff. Expect calls for higher taxes and more spending.

So where are Tom Luna and the State Board of Education on this issue? It’s time for them to end the excuses and rhetoric and start making real reforms. Mr. Luna and the State Board must tell districts that the days of unaccountable monopoly are over. All other state agencies require competitive bidding on government contracts. So, why should the Department of Education be any different? The Board could directly offer parents the option of accepting a $5,000 voucher that could be used to attend a private school that’s accountable for its performance. This will create incentives for entrepreneurs to create high-performing and productive schools.

What would be wrong with letting students escape these failing district schools and reducing the bill to taxpayers? True accountability and improvement can only be achieved when parents have the right to choose the best school for their children. If Wal-Mart can offer money-back guarantees, why can’t our schools?