Parental choice is the only certain way to raise standards and counter left-wing values in the classroom. MCPP has a plan to make this happen in Mississippi.
Mississippi is already surrounded on three sides by states that have school choice. Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana have all now passed legislation to give families control over their child’s share of the education budget. However, perennial efforts to achieve something similar in Mississippi through Education Savings Accounts, or ESA's, have failed. Each time a universal ESA proposal has been attempted the legislation dies. We would love to see a universal program of publicly funded ESA's in Mississippi, which families could use to pay for school, but I believe the chances of such legislation passing anytime soon are slim. That’s why MCPP is pursuing a different three step strategy to achieve universal school choice in our state:1. Step One – An individual budget for every student: During the last legislative session, MCPP spearheaded efforts to secure a school-funding formula in order that every public school student now has a personalized education budget.We did so knowing that once each student has a personalized budget, it becomes much easier to argue that they should then be allowed to take their budget to a school of their choice. We have achieved this.
1. Step Two – Public-to-public school choice: Thanks to a bill (HB 1341) passed in the last legislative session, military families, including those in the National Guard, are able to send their children to a traditional public school of their choice—if it has capacity.We are openly pushing for legislation in the 2025 session to allow each student to take their personal budget to a public school of their choice, giving every family in Mississippi the right that military families enjoy. Responsible conservative policy means allowing school boards to have the final say over capacity and giving strong safeguards to school so that they do not have to take students with a history of disciplinary problems.
1. Step 3 – Parental Choice Tax Credit: Tens of thousands of families in our state choose not to send their children to public school, either because they homeschool or they send their children to private school. We believe they should be able to claim a refundable income tax credit to help them with expenses, like tuition and fees.We have a carefully costed plan for a Parental Choice Tax Credit that would achieve this, building on the tax credit system we already have. Interestingly, the Republicans in Washington, D.C., have indicated that they might pass a similar tax credit federally. These three steps would ensure universal school choice in our state—and give families in Mississippi the choices that families now have in neighboring states. The good news is that Mississippi is already halfway to making this happen! Morton Blackwell, the great conservative activist, likes to say that “In politics nothing moves unless it’s pushed”. MCPP is happy to push – and to push hard …. even if it upsets one or two anti-school choice activists. It’s what we exist to do. We are open about our goal and our strategy for achieving school choice because we know that sunlight is the best disinfectant. There’s no need for mystery and opaque maneuverings. Nor will we shy away from engaging directly those that might like to stop parental choice by stealth. If school choice is opposed by lawmakers that sent their own kids to private school, we won’t hesitate to ensure that Mississippi knows. Over the course of the coming months as we head into the 2025 legislative session, I will be sure to update you on progress – and I’ll be sure to inform you who supports and who opposes parental choice! This is a fight we can win! Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. MCPP sponsored this post.
23 comments:
Do not allow school choice for private schools! Why? Because what makes private schools better is they don’t take government money. Government money comes with government strings
All Mississippians should support Doug in this effort.
So here is a question. Why won’t the private school parents be more for school choice? They would benefit as well by receiving funds to pay for their children private education? They may check they are for it in a poll but there is no outcry from them. If anyone has an answer would love to hear it.
School funding is made up of state money and local money. Wouldn’t an influx of out of district students unfairly increase the tax on local residents. Property taxes are the only means for school’s districts to collect local revenue. Out of district students would not be paying their share of local cost.
I wonder how the school choice people will feel when the Feds inevitably hand down racial quotas for school districts accepting transfers.
I may be wrong but I don’t ever see the top private schools accepting public money. As soon as they accept public money they will be subjected to accountability standards and will be acted for openly promoting religious beliefs.
By the time school choice is a thing here there won’t be anybody left to choose
Exactly! And the other thing is that private schools have better kids. Daily contact with one bully from a scummy family, can destroy an entire classroom full of kids. Mississippi's private school kids, today, are amazingly nice. That's because they're THIRD GENERATION - three generations is what it took, to eliminate the culture of fear/shame/meanness which prevailed, before private schools became the norm.
In-general, the children of people who can't afford to raise and fund the educations of children (but who DO have children, anyway), are going to drag their classmates down, if injected by "School Choice", into private schools.
I would add that "Liberalism" is the LEAST of the things I'd be worried about, if I had my kids in Mississippi's public schools, today.
“School choice” used to be a race issue. Now it’s a race and privilege issue. In the end, minorities and the poor will get shafted.
I am a tax paying citizen in the Jackson Metro area. My taxes go to public schools and that is perfectly ok. I choose for my kid to go to private school and do not expect any government assistance as that is my decision. If they want to push school choice in the public sector that is fine. Leave the private schools alone.
That sounds nearly utopian, choice for all, rich and poor.
But you are not listening to the practical reality. Here’s how it works.
For folks spending twenty grand for high school education (you know who), their $6600 is vacation money. For those wishing to get their kids into a private school, the low cost schools (say $9,000/year) just got cheap and they better be ready to expand. For poor folk, well all the best public schools are already full and those parents have their $6600 too. So there’s no change.
Summary, rich folks get a vacation, upper middle class folks have more to brag about. For everybody else life’s the same. It’s just another government giveaway to rich folks, this one being more obvious than most.
Notice that they never site any study that school choice improves academics because all or most conclusively show that it has a negative impact. This is not about "t being so concerned about students " This is another sham . Once they get this pushed through they then will promote the money following students to private schools. Then the money will actually be used to pay tuition for wealthy kids who were already attending private schools. Do your research and find out how many states implemented this and then had serious financial issues caused by the unintended consequences. Like sheep tp the slaughter.......
It will not matter what they do with the schools. Ms. is at the bottom of the list and will stay there. To many people are not educated and are proud of what they do not know. The people will have to change before the schools change.
A. Why should those of us paying much higher property taxes and mortgages to live in areas with high performing public schools have to share those schools with folks that don’t pay the same? We could live in a cheaper northeast Jackson neighborhood and pay for private schools or send our kids to JOS schools. But we decided to pay the price to live where we live for the opportunity to send our kids to specific public schools. How does Douhlas think that is fair? I invite him to answer that here on this thread.
B. If the better performing public schools are already full, then what changes other than private school families getting a tax break?
C. How is it determined if someone is a “private school family?” Can I simply change my mind about my children’s education and begin getting the tax break?
This seems poorly planned, unless the plan isn’t actually the plan.
What people seem to leave out of this conversation, is that if vouchers become a reality, private schools will jack up their tuition to maintain exclusivity and also benefit from the increased public funding. The better schools will continue to excel, they just may get public funded astroturf with school vouchers.
"Counter left wing values"? You can't fight what you don't know or understand.
Values are taught at home. That's a daily "class" given my good parents both in setting an example and making their expectations clear to their children.
You need to study and gain knowledge of what will work better so you can find and present a PLAN everyone can understand. It's not like there aren't several Southern States who have improved their education system. They could because education is still valued as important.
That requires YOU to read text books, and get the information of how better systems were created. For that , you'll need to have a high comprehension level yourself and to actually so some leg work!
Public schools are offering choices all over the South and doing well. It's geared to the child, not to political party nonsense! Our schools are poorly funded and maintained. You can't teach children in dismal classrooms and whose teachers teach for testing, not for learning! And, this was being achieved when a friend of mine had to buy band instruments for Murrah so they could have a band. She did that while her child was in a private school.
Reading Hitler and Marx diatribes did not make me a fascist or a communist but helped learn how to recognize the difference and learn how they fooled the public with their hate messages and pie in the sky propaganda.
You, sir, are just another propagandist who serves an entitled group who seeks to increase their power and wealth. Marxists actually do the same by rewarding their loyalists and turning those who might object to paying for parts of their " wish list" into "enemies of the people".
If billionaires wanted to help society, they have a thousand million in every billion. There are only 36 million living in poverty in this country. They could "fix" that tomorrow and still live a "rich" life. Some would have more than a billion left over and one would have billions left over.
So where are these “public school kids going if they get a voucher? All the schools have a wait list around here. The parents of private school kids put them there for a reason to get them away from the public school kids so what makes anyone think they’re gonna accept public school kids who can’t already afford to go. And yes, as soon as vouchers are legal the private schools will jack up their tuition so it doesn’t benefit the private school parents any now the private schools will use that extra funding to upgrade facilities. So basically our tax dollars will go to new football fields and soccer fields and gymnasiums and parking .
This thread is hilarious. The elephant in the room and third rail no one wants to touch, is that poorly functioning families (which starts with moms and dads that probably shouldn't be or aren't ready to be) want the structure and "equal" benefit of their misfortunate child to mass associate with the demonstrated better quality of good, healthy parenting that we see in other children, thus and those better prepared children/youth in their having the proper motivation in pursuing education and respecting authority.
So sorry, if those values are not instilled in the home from the beginning, and they are missing - you don't demand of the public to make up for your lack of being marriage/parent material. That's pushing communism - which is where everyone's experience is equal, yes - but equally miserable and a very low quality of life.
If the "poor" want to defeat, and climb out of poverty - stop having children you can't afford. Reverend Ike once said, "If you want to help the poor, then don't be one."
The importance of education begins at home for everyone. Until that happens, you can throw all the money you want to at the classroom and nothing will change. You gotta want it! Unfortunately, there are generations of families on government support and they’re just happy with. And much money is made with the system just as it is.
Both the hacks for and against "vouchers" are political operatives that do not - I repeat - do NOT give a shit about anyone's children.
100% of my employees are graduates of our local public school which provides an excellent education and workforce training. Under no circumstances would I ever want 1 penny of my tax dollars to be diverted to the local "Christian" private school which is an embarrassment to our community with kids openly buying, selling and smoking dope and making out (actually more than making out) in public. Those kids are privileged and know they can get away with abhorrent behavior. Let their parents pay for their school not me.
12/14 10:45: I totally agree. Imam a retired JPS teacher and what I saw is that the students who excelled had parents who pushed them, made them do homework, saw that they were at school every day, kept up with what they were doing and with whom. Others did not do homework, had spotty attendance, and the parents did not show up for parent conferences. You are right. Until the parents change, the students (or scholars, as JPS calls them) will not change.
2:54, private school kids are amazingly nice? What rock have you been hiding under?
School choice is a great debate topic. Lots of “theories” but the reality is that the system should be completely scrapped and rebuilt. And nobody is going to support that. Vouchers are like a bandaid on a mortal wound. Won’t fix anything.
Agreed! Let's dismantle public education altogether, and let EVERYONE's parents pay for their schooling.
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