LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Tell Boden to oppose bill funding private schools

School choice is already available to families through open enrollment. We have had that for some time. The difference here is the schools being mentioned in the legislation do not have to accept all students. If a child has certain disabilities or behavioral issues or worse yet of the wrong religion, that particular private school can say no. Public money should go to schools that have to accept all children as public schools do today. And for the most part public schools do a pretty darn good job of meeting the needs of all children.

As a student of education policy, I've been following the issue of vouchers and charter schools for 25 years. There is no evidence that they I'm[prove there educational outcomes in a state overall, and there is proof that they drain money from public schools. Despite the sales pitch for this bill, it will not benefit the poor. Instead, those who get the voucher money and have significant income can combine the two to buy a private education for their kids. In essence, a voucher systems serves to support the more well off.

Mr. Bohlken urges Representative Boden to pass SF159. Mr. Bohlken claims, “It allows parents to rescue their children from public schools that are failing them.”

Mr. Bohlken, please specify in what way our fine Indianola public schools are “failing” our children?

Mr. Bohlken, please specify in what way our fine Indianola public schools are “failing” our children to the point our public schools need to be de-funded by the proposed school vouchers?

Representative Boden would be well advised to pass SF159. It allows parents to rescue their children from public schools that are failing them. The counter argument is that children must be trapped in such schools to ensure the schools' funding isn't cut. And, by the way, the last time education spending was cut was when Democrat Governor Culver had to impose a 10% across the board budget cut because the Democrat party controlled legislature could not keep their spending within the revenues received.