A member of a sister organization in Texas has reached out for our help to defeat SB3, the "school choice" or voucher bill. Our very own Kel Seliger is on the education committee, where the bill is being considered. We've called to express our dislike of this bill in the past, but now is time for a fresh wave of calls.
SB3 proposes to take money away from public schools in order to create vouchers, or "education savings accounts" that parents could use to offset the cost of private school education. The bill also calls for the creation of "tax credit scholarships" to supplement the savings accounts for lower income families.
So what are the problems with this bill?
1. This bill takes money away from public schools. Need we say more?
2. Private schools have private curricula, meaning that there is no public oversight of what they teach or the materials they use. Remember that terrible Mexican-American history textbook that was kept out of schools because of PUBLIC outcry? Private schools can use that book and there's nothing the public can do to fight that.
3. In more rural areas like ours, private schools are almost all Christian-based, which means non-Christians would not benefit equally from this bill.
4. This bill would benefit primarily the upper middle class, and leave poor families with no option but the public schools, which will almost certainly be facing more problems with funding, overcrowding, and teacher shortages once state funds are taken away from them and given to private schools.
5. Public education is an investment in the future of our society. Do we really want to de-fund our future?
Kel Seliger
The Honorable Kel Seliger
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
512-463-0131
