Follow up to Sec. Ed., re: vouchers

In the other thread, the new ed. secretary nominee was mentioned as being pro-voucher, which Trump supposedly supports. However, while I don't disagree with the idea of vouchers, I can tell you that they will not be the panacea many conservatives think they will be, In fact, the vast majority of private schools will, IMO, refuse to be part of the program, for two reasons.

1. In Tennessee, the voucher is worth about $6,000. Schools must accept the voucher as payment in full. The cost to attend Goodpasture Christian in Nashville is about $11,000 a year. Ensworth is $28,000. That difference will have to be made up from the school's existing financial aid budget...which has probably already been allocated. Funding financial aid is more complicated than just giving students a discount. Accepting vouchers would require raising more funds for financial aid to make up the difference. Oh...you also have to feed the kids for free.

2. Most reputable Christian schools will refuse to participate, because they don't want to start taking government money. Oh, sure, you might have some substandard "school" meeting in a church basement that will accept them. But most good schools won't. When you start taking government money, then you accept government regulations. Many may not realize that private schools already are entitled to some federal funds every year. Every Christian school head I have known refuses to take the money, because they don't want to have to go down that road. For example, there is one private Christian school in Murfreesboro that has an outstanding baseball facility, which every year hosts state tournament games. By comparison, their softball field is a cow pasture. As soon as they accept a school voucher, they will be hit with a Title IX lawsuit. Another example could be LGBT issues. This whole bathroom brouhaha? As soon as a Christian school taxes a dollar from the state or the feds, they will have to comply with all the same regulations. The idea of accepting government funds is anathema to Christian school heads.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not opposed to vouchers in theory. I just think, based on personal experiences and conversations with private school heads, conservatives are going to be very, very disappointed when those vouchers aren't worth anything.