COMMENTARY: Helping the greatest among us: Vouchers for all

At its inception, the concept of vouchers for private education was wrapped up in a declared concern for the poorest among us. The Republican majority proposed giving financial support for private education to low-income families whose children were in “failing” public schools. That effort was limited in numbers and cost. Some dozen years later, the rules and financial limitations imposed on vouchers are now down to one: No voucher for those families with the highest incomes.

The Republican majority’s end game is to extend vouchers to the wealthiest of our young families whose children are probably already in private schools that are in no way failing. The emphasis on alleviating poverty became such a tiny fig leaf that the majority no longer sees any value in it. They want to strip the fig leaf off. I hope this finally exposes them.

This progression exposes the real goals that have always motivated the proponents of school choice: Undercut the public education system and provide help to those who do not need it. The next step will be to increase the amount of the vouchers so that even more funds go to private education. This game hurts the very individuals and communities that most need help. Let’s look at how communities are affected by these ploys.

Most of our counties have small and declining populations that struggle to support public education. They lack private schools and charter schools. They lack “school choice.” But the residents of those counties pay state income and sales taxes that are increasingly devoted to vouchers. The result is that rural Hoosiers get less support from the state for their children but must support private institutions that are not readily available to them. Funding is being sent to private schools that compete with urban public schools for funding and for enrollment. A lose-lose for both the rural and urban public schools. This is diabolical.

It is often said that we can best understand motives by assessing action rather than pious statements. It has become clear to me that school choice is not about helping those of average or below-average means. So why do we continue to lower our support for public education, which serves 90% of Indiana students? Why has support for traditional schools fallen from 43.1% of the state general fund in 2011 to 36.4% in 2024? Why have voucher dollars ballooned from $79 million in 2014 to $433 million in 2024?

It is because of cooperation between ideologues who oppose public education simply because it is public and what I have labeled the “Education Industrial Complex.” Wealthy donors crusading for vouchers and educational entrepreneurs are reaping the rewards we’ve sown for them. I hope we reject vouchers for all and begin the move back to full-throated support for public education. Meanwhile, I have an idea about what to do with the money the wealthiest among us don’t need.

Policy is about choices. What choice are we making if vouchers are expanded to the wealthiest? We are choosing to support private institutions and well-off families. A $6,000 voucher will not get a poor kid into a private school charging $15,000 or more. It will let the well-off family set aside money for college or to help pay the mortgage.

If our goal is, indeed, to help the average family, we will allow vouchers to help pay for preschool. This would free up both parents to work and would make the children better prepared for elementary school. It might make homeownership a reality. There would be a chance at intergenerational success.