What is school choice? Big Country officials explain the ‘voucher’ dilemma

BIG COUNTRY, Texas ( KTAB/KRBC ) — School choice has been a key issue of discussion this election season, particularly here in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott is leading a charge to implement vouchers into the Texas education system, a push that has faced staunch opposition within his own party. With several other states already passing legislation on the topic, Texas remains a heavily contested battleground for this polarizing policy. To better understand the topic, we examined the arguments from both sides and the core tenets of the ongoing conversation.

School choice and ‘vouchers’ are likely terms you’ve heard a lot lately, whether from state political leaders like Governor Greg Abbot…

“All of Texas students will be doing better with a robust school choice program in the State of Texas.”

Or local education officials like Abilene ISD Superintendent John Kuhn and Walt Landers, CEO of Texas Leadership Public Schools.

“I think school vouchers are bad for public education,” Kuhn said.

“Our students are not worth any less than they are in an ISD,” Landers shared.

But what is the ‘choice’ in school choice, and what is a voucher? To simplify these concepts, we spoke with Dr. Paul Fabrizio, a political analyst and professor of political science at McMurry University.

“School choice, as it’s currently looked at here in Texas, is about using public money to help students who are in private schools,” Fabrizio said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has recently advocated for a voucher system. He argues that it would give parents the choice to send their child to a private or charter school by diverting money away from state public education funding into ‘vouchers’ for private school tuition.

“The parents have argued that they’re paying for the public schools, but they’re not using the public schools. So the money that’s being used for public schools should also go to them in private schools,” Fabrizio explained.

Detractors of the legislation argue that private schools are private for a reason.

“Some of these schools that will be accepting these vouchers have no obligation to accept students with special needs, students from different language backgrounds,” Kuhn shared.

However, some argue that it is meant to help the poor and middle class.

“School choice is about giving the poor and the middle class the same right the rich have always had,” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz stated.

Whether religious or not, private institutions historically rely on tuition fees for funding and are, therefore, exempt from most state educational regulations. The argument is that public schools, which are subject to these regulations and whose funding is tied to their performance, would be put at a significant disadvantage.

“Public schools have to exist and teach the students in their area. Is it fair that they are competing against schools that don’t have that requirement?” Fabrizio asked.

“There’d be no accountability. I just have a hard time right now seeing. Using taxpayer dollars to fund private education,” Lambert expressed.

State Representative Stan Lambert of Abilene and Drew Darby, representing District 72, are vocal advocates standing with the rural districts, which view the legislation as a net loss for Texas education.

“They are saying look, this is going to hurt our districts, and they’re saying to the governor you’re wrong on this issue… There has been an ongoing search for a compromise on this issue that goes back to the 1940s and 1950s, and they haven’t found it yet,” Fabrizio explained.

The question of what school choice is far easier to answer than those facing lawmakers in the continued debate.

“What is the role of government? What about the separation of church and state? How do we keep funding this and what is the consequence for those who are still in the public schools?” Fabrizio asked. “These are questions that the legislature is going to argue about and argue about when it comes back into session next spring.”

This story is just one piece of our in-depth coverage of this hot-button issue’s state, local, and national impact. The story you just saw, as well as many more, will be included in an exclusive forum with local leaders airing this Thursday, September 12th, on KRBC’s ‘School Choice Special’ presented by Texas Leadership Public Schools and Life Church Abilene.

Following the 6:00 p.m. special, we will hear from a panel of local leaders at 6:30 p.m., which can be seen exclusively here on BigCountryHomepage.com.

• Texas HD 71 State Representative Stan Lambert
• Former AISD School Board Member and member of the Taylor County Democratic Party Sammy Garcia
• Runnels County home school parent Chris Martin
• Newly Elected HD 65 State Representative Mitch Little
• Founder and CEO of Texas Leadership Public Schools Walt Landers

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