Contents of this issue:
- Kentucky voucher program expands, garners national attention
- COMMENTARY: School district has one teacher for every 3.7 students
- Congressional Republicans request GAO audit of Head Start program
- Boston schools may stop busing program
- COMMENTARY: Students left behind in Michigan schools
KENTUCKY VOUCHER PROGRAM EXPANDS, GARNERS NATIONAL ATTENTION
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A privately funded school voucher program has
grown to one of the largest such programs in the nation,
according to Children First America, a Texas-based advocate of
vouchers.
The Louisville School Choice Scholarship Program gives
scholarships up to 60 percent of tuition or $1,000 each year for
three years. The organization has given $3 million in
scholarships to 1,100 low-income children to attend the school of
their choice and has a 400-person waiting list. "Our demand grows
every year," Diane Cowne, program director, told the Lexington
Herald-Leader. "And that may increase."
Public school proponents, however, say the program takes money
away from helping public schools. "If they focused that money on
public schools, I think they could make a bigger difference for
kids," said Jefferson County Teachers Association president Brent
McKim. But proponents say competition is what will improve public
schools, and that their program exists to offer alternatives to
students that could not otherwise afford private schools. "We'd
be happy if there was no need for our services," said Cowne.
SOURCES:
Lexington Herald-Leader, "Louisville's school-voucher program gains
national attention," Dec. 1, 2003
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/7385343.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Education Reform, School
Choice, and Tax Credits," April 18, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4191
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Friedman Says Vouchers and
Tax Credits Useful Route to Greater School Choice,"
March 19, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4117
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling: Restoring Parental Control of Education,"
Jan. 29, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
COMMENTARY: SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS ONE TEACHER FOR EVERY 3.7 STUDENTS
BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y. — A New York Post commentary by Marcus
Winters of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research exposes
extraordinary spending in a small New York state school district,
where per-pupil spending has reached an incredible $45,090.
According to the district's budget, costs are about normal for
educating and providing for each student, but one statistic
stands out when comparing the district to others. "In 2001-02,
Bridgehampton employed one teacher for every 3.7 students," wrote
Winters.
The huge expenditure hasn't raised test scores; the district's
scores were below the state average in English and math.
"Bridgehampton shows us there is more to education than just
money," remarked Winters.
SOURCES:
New York Post, "Gold-Plated Classrooms," Dec. 1, 2003
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/12210.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Will More Money Improve
Student Performance?" June 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/527
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "More Spending Not the
Solution to School Woes," December 1993
https://www.mackinac.org/137
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS REQUEST GAO AUDIT OF HEAD START PROGRAM
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional Republicans last week requested
a formal examination by the U.S. General Accounting Office of the
federal Head Start program due to reports of financial
mismanagement at several Head Start centers around the country.
Several accounts of misspending Head Start money have surfaced,
including reports of a $10.5 million loss in Charleston, S.C.,
and a $300,000 salary with a Mercedes lease for the Head Start
executive director in Kansas City, Mo.
"The Head Start establishment has a growing credibility problem,"
John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Committee on
Education and the Work Force, told the New York Times. "The
information in this report will help teachers, parents and
taxpayers know the extent of the problem, and should ultimately
help Congress agree on some solutions."
SOURCES:
New York Times, "Republicans Urge Inquiry of Head Start,"
Nov. 26, 2003
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/26/politics/26STAR.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Hyping the Head Start
Program," April 1993
https://www.mackinac.org/159
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Re-Hyping the Head Start
Program," August 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5672
BOSTON SCHOOLS MAY STOP BUSING PROGRAM
BOSTON, Mass. — Boston city officials are looking to shut down a
1970s busing program originally intended to increase racial
diversity in mainly white schools.
The program is widely remembered due to violence against bused-in
students when the program was court-ordered in 1974. Those
wishing to end the program say it will save the district $25
million in transportation costs and let students attend schools
closer to where they live.
Court orders for racial integration in Boston stood until 1999,
when lawsuits threatened the school district if integration was
not halted. "We're letting go of a policy that doesn't work," Ann
Walsh, president Boston's Children First, an anti-busing group,
told the Associated Press. "This is a very exciting moment."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Boston considers plan to stop school
busing," Nov. 27, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/bos27_20031127.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Fear of Segregation Is No
Argument against School Choice," February 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2669
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Choice Integrates
Students of All Races," September 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2464
COMMENTARY: STUDENTS LEFT BEHIND IN MICHIGAN SCHOOLS
DETROIT, Mich. — Following an examination of recently reported
student scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program
(MEAP) achievement test, the Detroit News has concluded that far
too many Michigan students graduate from high school without
meeting basic state standards, even though statewide education
spending is 17 percent higher than the national average.
Spending per student in Michigan is over $1,000 above the
national average, and the average teacher is among the best paid
in the nation at $52,000 per year, but students are still behind
in test scores. Some blame the MEAP for not representing
students' abilities, but, "... It's not the [MEAP] test's fault,"
said the News in an editorial.
Other states perform better than Michigan with the same social
problems and less spending. "Lawmakers should determine why
relatively high education spending in Michigan brings such
disappointing academic results," wrote the News. "The answer is
critical to shaping the future of public education."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Many Children Left Behind in Michigan Schools,"
Nov. 26, 2003
https://www.detroitnews.com/2003/editorial/0311/26/a12-335442.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Will More Money Improve
Student Performance?" June 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/527
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "More Spending Not the
Solution to School Woes," December 1993
https://www.mackinac.org/137
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Does the MEAP Measure
Up?" December 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3919
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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