I was just thinking yo, can I use my share of taxes that go to the police to pay for my own private security force? That would be cool…

1. The matter of “competition” — School choice proponents talk about competition between public schools and private schools as a key benefit of choice. It’s quite clear, however, that public and private K-12 schools play by two very different sets of rules, which obviously goes against the whole idea of legitimate competition: It is very significant, for one thing, that private schools can determine the clientele they want to serve. They can keep out students with low test scores or bad behavior. This sets a tone in their schools and goes a long way to guaranteeing success (as defined by test scores and behavior). Further, this enviroment is marketed to “customers” — parents.

Public schools must deal with anyone who shows up, which means they can’t guarantee test scores and must often deal with discipline issues not found in private schools. In fact, if a kid gets kicked out of Hammond Academy for skipping class or cussing out a teacher, the public school system has to accept that student….that’s a bizarre concept of “competition.”

In the higher education arena, the idea of competition is fairly credible. USC or Clemson can compete with private colleges by sending out recruiters to high schools, by offering niche programs that only the wealthiest K-12 public schools could consider offering, by raising private funds through alumni, by signing gazillion dollar contracts for TV rights for football, and so on. Unlike their K-12 counterparts, public universities are not required to take all-comers — they can set admission standards that, like private schools, help create a particular academic environment. And, if I’m not mistaken, they have a good deal of freedom in setting tuition rates, so that if they aren’t satisfied with what they’re getting from the state, public higher education institutions can charge their “customers” more money. It doesn’t work that way with the K-12 system.

2. The whole concept of “choice” for the student or family is different between K-12 vs. higher ed. If you’re a 10-year-old poor kid in Clarendon County, and you’ve got a voucher or scholarship or whatever….BUT, there’s only one private school, and that school has admission standards that keep you out because of grades, or your parents can’t drive you to the school because of their work hours…..well, in that case, you don’t have real choice.

On the other hand, if you’re an 18-year-old from Clarendon County, and you’ve got a state grant to choose a college — public or private — then you can most likely make something work. You can drive yourself or get on a bus (not dependent on your parents’ transportation issues or work schedules) and head out of town to college. You can get into a dormitory and live wherever the school is, which is very different from being able to only choose among schools located in your hometown. In other words, the CHOICE for a college-aged student is very different from the reality of choice for a kid in the K-12 system.

There are exceptions, of course. Quite a few college-aged students can’t easily leave their home, for any number of reasons. That is why it’s important for our state to have strong local technical and community colleges. But, generally speaking, I think it’s absolutely true that college students can actually make use of choices provided by state grants or scholarships in ways that aren’t feasible for youngsters who can’t leave home, depend on parents for transportation (or a school bus, of course), and can choose only among schools in a local community — in many cases, communities that don’t have much to offer.

Bottom line: We are talking about two systems that are fundamentally different. Two different populations of students with entirely different circumstances, in totally different positions to take advantage of educational choices. In no way an apples-to-apples comparison.

Howie’s voucher clowns are such m@r@ns.

Vouchers are dead. Grave Yard Dead.

sic(k) willie and Howie’s other voucher clowns (yes, including all those paid for in the Legislature) will pay a price for their voucher scams.

Count on it, you voucher clowns.

BIN New Editorial Staff
Flair and Balanced

The Guv’s tax credit proposal is on top of a $2500 -$4500 tax credit already on the books for those who generally earn more than 200% of the poverty line ($40,000 for a family of 4)but certainly applies to his friends. It’s what once was the “middle class to low income group that is not going to qualify for a tax credit. The “lower end” is rising fast in numbers, you know those who are getting bounced regularly as one business after the other is shuttered or who become ill and now have no health insurance and no job or those who work 2 or 3 part time $7-8 hr. jobs, includes those who can’t count anymore on pay increases. Inludes those who are or who are on the way to underemployment of gigantic proportionsd due to failed efforts by all to require job skill training courses in high schools for the “non-college bound” who if the don;t drop out (55% state wide) do not qualify to get to TEC much less to higher ed so the jobs the Guv’s Dept. of Commerce did find even at $8-$12 hr. are beyond reach.

A living wage for many citizens with a family of 4, particularly those are the future are young bought into “the dream” to buy a small home, a used car and actually had 2.5 kids who need public schools.

Yes, there’s a place for money in the private system for those wanting out of bad public schools and the state is doing nothing to support scholarships for those that want it at the k-12 level. It should come as no surprise that the private sector and lots of tax provisions that help corporations make decisions to get involved look for example to Student Service Organizations (SSO) open in many other states. SSOs are filling up right now with corporate $$$$$ from big companies currying public acclaim for donated scholarships to private K-12.

Why pull public funds out of K-12 and turn into a competition among poor communities ? If you want to see a mess with educational competition run amuck in the public arena check out higher ed who is now positioning themselves used skyrocketing tuitions to become “The Top 20 Best” and seating fewer than 45% of the South Carolina applicants who actually qualify so out of state-rs can pay higher tuition.

Local districts must add on average $5000 to the pittance of base funding simply to operate and we all know property taxes are in SC now capped except to account for inflation and growth factor whic his also capped. We parents get to watch sales tax collections drop yer over year. True, Marion 7 is among the poorest with almost no tax base and spends a lot more on average, about $14,000 total per student. But by removing tax funds and then shaking budget box with fewer dollars to distribute, ALL public schools will get fewer funds. Then we can slap ourselves on the back for closing public schools, shutting down districts and eventually make learning an online experience in the public sector, or contract with the private sector, a real winner. Remember the lesson we learned with the DJJ privatization experiment “to save tax dollars” a few years ago? What a great way to eliminate overhead!

Let’s get real, this tax credit / voucher crap is a “rich man’s game” being played. Hats off the the Guv…one more time in his support of minimal education for the most.

Oh, and an occasional retreat to the Tater Teachers Camp. http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2008/march/teacher_renewal.php5