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"School vouchers will be an educational win-win"

by Steve Viars
Journal & Courier
December 6, 2011

Our community is blessed with many fine educators in our public school system. They deserve our respect, appreciation and support.

That is why I believe our present educational system has to change. The model currently in place, like so many other aspects of our government, is unsustainable. Failing to face hard realities diminishes the sacrificial work of our public educators and places the entire system in jeopardy.

There are several reasons that our state’s voucher program can strengthen both our public schools and our community’s overall approach to educating our children.

It’s best for the budgets. Imagine for a moment that a new plant opened next to Caterpillar and offered to manufacture some of their engines at the same or better quality for 20 percent less cost, leaving Caterpillar the extra money to build their remaining engines in whatever way they chose. How long do you think it would take Cat to make that deal?

That is what the voucher system does for the taxpayers of our state. I am surprised how frequently the discussion focuses on how much less money a particular school will receive. That fails to take into account that the school is also responsible to educate fewer children. If private schools are willing to teach children currently in the public system at a lower cost to the state, how could that possibly be bad?

It’s best for the parents. Teachers frequently bemoan the lack of parental involvement in the education process. I fully agree with them. Education is fundamentally the task of the parent. That is why I believe a system of educational choices will encourage and stimulate parental involvement.

Options generate participation and creativity. The best way to secure more meaningful parental input in their child’s education is to give them flexibility and control. It’s disingenuous and short-sighted to chide parents for abdicating their responsibility when the system won’t trust them with the choice of which school their child attends.

It’s best for the students. Some students learn better in a smaller environment. Many children need more discipline and personal attention than larger schools can provide. Other children thrive when academic rigor is combined with faith commitments. Aren’t the students of our community best served when we provide access to a variety of educational options and allow families to select the choice that best fits their individual needs and desires? Why would we withhold what is best for our children?

It’s best for the educators. Competition is healthy. The current system of government educational monopolies stifles creativity and innovation.

The same is true at our church. I am glad that there are more than 100 other churches in our community. I believe our town is best served by a range of religious choices and the freedom to believe anything or nothing. Knowing that someone can choose to attend another church next week or sleep in on Sunday keeps us constantly looking for ways to improve our ministry and accomplish our mission in an efficient manner. Our future existence, just like every other organization in town, depends on us responding wisely and swiftly to the challenges and blessings of competition.

It’s best for the culture. Some good folks dislike vouchers because of the concern that we may be crossing boundaries in the rightful separation of church and state.

The founders never envisioned an irreligious culture. That is why at the very time they were formulating the First Amendment, they also hired the Rev. William Linn on May 1, 1789, to be Congress’ first chaplain at the government salary of $500 per year. The day before, George Washington said to both chambers of Congress, “We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained.”

The establishment clause was our government’s proper prohibition against favoring a particular denomination, not its desire for a public square cleansed of all things religious. As long as parents have the freedom to choose whatever school is best for their child, the separation of church and state test is adequately met.

The process of change and innovation is messy and uncomfortable. But we must acknowledge that our present approach to public education is unsustainable at any cost. The voucher system keeps more money per remaining pupil in the public schools while giving families the choices they deserve and educators the competition we need. From where I sit, everybody wins.

Viars is senior pastor at Faith Church in Lafayette.