Let me ask a question.
I understand that Sayre charges $28,000 a year for tuition. Lets say the Legislature passes a $5K or even $10K voucher program, and 100 kids from Bryan Station decide they would like to transfer to Sayre. Is the probable response from Sayre, well sure, we would love to have you . . . if you can come up with the other $18K, and in addition, we first need to fund raise $25M or so to build an additional wing to house another four or five classrooms to handle the influx. That seems highly unlikely to me. Instead, seems to me the more likely result is that the parents already sending their kids to Sayre are just going to pocket a nice tax break.
Isn't that how it has played out in Arizona and other states that have passed their version of Amd 2?
That probably would be the case for very top end schools. However in sure those very top end schools probably also have competitive academic scholarships that require testing etc. Those probably won't change because exclusivity is part of the brand. No different than high end aau/travel ball.
The people this really helps are low income kids and families. Like 99% of us, maybe they cant afford to pit their kids in the absolute best, but this gives them a chance to get their kids to somewhere better. Once theyre somewhere better, who knows what potential might be unlocked.
The alternative is to keep things the same and watch generations of kids fall further behind. Covid made the gap even further because privates kept going while teachers' unions and politicians kept public kids home for 2 years. At a point, that gap becomes generational.
Poor kids and families dont deserve equal outcomes but the do deserve equal opportunities. Especially kids, because they cant choose their parents but their educational opportunities are currently bound to their parents' choices in life.
If the state is spending the same amount of money anyway, let the consumers decide. It will improve their outcomes and the losing schools forced to get better or just die off. That in turn makee the entire education program better across the board. But unions and highly paid do nothing administration will be out, but theyre the problem.
