Word: vouchers
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Florida, voucher proponents had argued that parents would jump at the chance to get their "trapped" kids out of public schools. Yet of the 870 students offered vouchers, only 60 took them; eight have since moved back to the public schools. Area superintendent Jim May explains that parents already had the option of switching their kids into other public schools, which, unlike the private schools, pay for transportation and lunch. The 52 kids still using the vouchers are mostly happy, say their parents, but that's the only evidence of improvement because the state has refused to release the voucher...
...Voucher critics warned that the loss of $2 million in state aid could devastate the district schools. While Spencer Bibbs did have to drop three reading specialists, the voucher threat inspired the district to make improvements, including extending the school year to 210 days. Today neither Spencer Bibbs nor A.A. Dixon is on the state's failing list...
...biggest surprise to both sides in the voucher debate came this summer when the state announced the results of last year's exams. Seventy-six schools had been graded F by the state the year before; if these schools did not improve, nearly 60,000 kids would have been offered vouchers. Yet somehow every one of those schools received a D or higher, so the 52 kids from Pensacola remain the only ones in Florida using vouchers...
Comparing the performance of students who use vouchers with that of students in the same school district who don't use them is meaningless. A better test would be to weigh the performance of voucher students against that of comparable students in a district where vouchers are not available. TOM PITTMAN Spreckels, Calif...
...many recent propositions have originated - or gained unstoppable momentum - from the rich and powerful. In California, for example, it takes at least $1 million to secure an initiative's spot on a ballot, which means special-interest groups like the teachers' unions (which fight tooth and nail to defeat voucher initiatives), as well as wealthy individuals like Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen (who spent $8 million to garner support for public funding of a new Seattle football stadium), have become a significant force behind the seemingly endless array of propositions littering state ballots nationwide...