“All I Want for Christmas is a School Voucher “said no public school kid ever. But the private school kid might.
Tennessee’s illustrious Governor Bill Lee made a big pitch last week offering universal school vouchers to every school-age child in the state. At the Tennessee State Museum of all places, Uncle Bill rolled out more legislation set to potentially gut the already beleaguered public school systems.
Calling it the “Education Freedom Scholarship of 2024,” the new legislation aims to offer school vouchers to every public school child K-12 in the state. That’s $7,075 each for those who decide to opt out of public school. Using words like “choice” and “freedom," this propagandizing is jumping on the bandwagon of a conservative education revolution. It is not in the best interest of public education. At all.
I’m pro-choice about most things. But sometimes there are too many choices. Like when I am shopping for a bottle of shampoo. Just get my hair clean already. I don’t need aisles and aisles of choices. And I also love freedom. Come on, I’m a born-and-bred American, though I have lived in several countries, traveled much and have the privilege of perspective and maturity.
My son graduated from a home school. Mine. A single-mom homeschool, and while it wasn’t without its challenges (that’s another story) I’m very proud of his education. You could say it was a satellite campus of The School of Hard Knocks. But he has a high school diploma. I am glad I had the option to homeschool. Great choice. I am the first to say public school in the end was not a good fit for him as he became a teenager. My once-gifted and talented little boy just sputtered and rejected all academia thrown at him. I would have jumped at a chance for that $7,075 back then.
The potential for rampant abuse of these school vouchers is mind-boggling. For over nine years I worked as a public school teacher. I also did my time in the labor camps of academia, fifteen years eking out a living working for standardized test companies, Pearson and Measurement, Inc. You could say I’ve seen some things, been some places when it comes to education.
What it boils down to is this: Kids already in private schools will get a sweet $7,075. It’s a win-win for the private school and the students. Kids that are truly in need of educational options in urban Nashville, for example, won’t be able to do much of anything with a piddlin’ $7,075. The average yearly tuition to an accredited quality private school is around $33,000. There is no free lunch at these schools and no public transportation.
It is my fervent hope that the voice of reason from the many excellent Tennessee educators, parents and the common sense of Tennessee lawmakers will prevail. I invite you to pay attention and participate in your governments, big and small. Stay awake. The show is far from over.
Standard reporter JL Jacobs can be contacted at (931) 473-2191 or jljacobs@southernstandard.com
