Public education is one of the few things that is a noble pursuit in our national budget. Everyone should pay for it because everyone benefits from it, whether they use it or not.

Offering a voucher system is a step backwards. Instead of this "freedom" from diversity this system would affect, teach our children equal opportunity under the law.

Some of the Myths Proponents of School Vouchers like to Spread:
1. School vouchers will create competition between schools, which will make them strive to be better: First of all, competition already exists for schools. It's up to states to rate schools, evaluate them, and distribute funds accordingly. Schools already constantly attempt to better themselves, with whatever funds are available to them. School vouchers will lessen the amount of funds available to the schools that really need them. In the end, schools in disadvantaged areas would be put in an even worse situation. This is not fair to the kids who might live in those areas.

Secondly, some schools have never truly competed for students or public funds in the past. Private and parochial schools that have never and should never receive public funds will be the sole benefactors of the school voucher arrangement. I've nothing against Buddha, but if you want to send your kid to a school that spends five hours a day discussing his life, pay for it yourself. If you want to send your kid to some elitest private school that has good reputations with all the Ivy-league schools, then pay for it yourself... don't do it at the expense of other kids' educations.

2. School vouchers will create alternatives for whoever wants them: Firstly, alternatives already exist. If one feels that strongly about the public education in your area, shell out the dough to pay tuition for the next district over. Or hell, send your kids north or south as far as you want. Kids can get into any public, private, or parochial schools they want for their cash. But that's a luxury, not a right. Send your kid to Timbuktu for all I care, just don't do it at the expense of other kids' educations.

Secondly, school vouchers only create opportunities for those who can seize them. Parents who cannot afford to pay whatever fees the school vouchers wouldn't cover or those who cannot spare the extra time to drive their kids to a different school or district will only be harmed as funds drain away from the public schools the nation provides.

3. Teachers' Unions are evil organizations that prevent teachers from being hired and fired by merit... And vouchers will force a reform: All of this anti-teachers'-union talk is just a blame game. Teachers' unions are made of teachers and teaching is what they do. Teachers want better education for their students, but they do not want to be fired by administrative whim. That's the cause for their rules... And you might be surprised to find how many teacher's unions work by seniority and/or 'merit'. Additionally, I have yet to see any proof that vouchers will cause any reform.

Where School Vouchers fail:
Vouchers do come at the expense of all those who can't afford other education even with them. "There's no such thing as a free lunch" was one of the first mind-numbingly simple concepts taught in economics.

The concept for those of you who slept through econ: Some students can't afford lunch. The public school system provides it for them, but this requires funds from elsewhere to pay for the food. The funds come from other student's lunch fees. Now take a school in a bad neighborhood where all those who can afford the time of driving their kids elsewhere or the additional fees of other schools do move their kids to other districts. What you have in the end are the situationally and most likely economically kids all in this school, taking free lunches with no one paying. And then the school goes belly-up or else makes cuts close to the bone. In the first case, the poor kid's families make even less as their parents lose time on the job. In the second, the poor kids get a substantially worse education due solely to vouchers. The same might be said for book rental or any of the other situation in which the school is expected to provide for their own costs.

In any event, the rich schools benefit and the poor fall victim.

Vouchers are a bad idea all around.