Our State Treasurer, Lynn Rogers, outlines some of the major problems with the latest Kansas voucher bill. We agree.
“The difficulty with vouchers is that they began to privatize a system not designed to be privatized. Our school boards provide a process for the public to play a role in the accountability public officials have for using tax dollars. This is why we have established school boards. Other states have had notable issues with improper use of funds with these types of accounts. In our comparison to Arizona, we found audits showing funds for vouchers were spent on food, clothes, entertainment, gift cards, a haunted house, and even a family planning clinic in one instance. Arizona has recovered less than 10% of these misused funds…
Rogers, Lynn. “School Voucher Proposal Is Filled with Hidden Costs for Students — and Kansas’ Budget Read More at: Https://Www.kansascity.com/Opinion/Readers-Opinion/Guest-Commentary/article257943613.Html#Storylink=Cpy.” Kansas City Star, McClatchy, 6 Feb. 2022, School voucher proposal is filled with hidden costs for students — and Kansas’ budget Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article257943613.html#storylink=cpy.
“Ultimately, public schools are a public good — and one that is clearly outlined as a right in the Kansas Constitution. Your tax dollars aren’t intended to be tuition for your student to go to public school. They’re an investment in the community. Funding public schools helps everyone because it increases property values, brings employers to Kansas, and lowers poverty and crime, among additional benefits. As a Kansan, you benefit from that investment of tax dollars whether or not you make the choice to have a child in public schools — and you do still have the choice to send your child to public school or not. But I don’t believe we should be utilizing tax dollars for that choice.”
Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article257943613.html
Originally posted to Facebook 2/8/2022.