Georgia GOP senators break ranks to doom school voucher bill

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Georgia GOP senators break ranks to doom school voucher bill

By JEFF AMY
March 15, 2022

ATLANTA (AP) — State senators on Tuesday rejected a plan to give educational vouchers of up to $6,000 a year to almost anyone as long as their child attended Georgia public school for a short time, spurning a push by Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller linked to the Gainesville Republican’s bid for lieutenant governor.

Eight Republicans voted against the bill and four others left the floor, leaving Senate Bill 601 to fail on a 29-20 vote. The vote once again shows how a crucial fraction of rural Republicans resist many school choice proposals, along with all but a few Democrats.

The measure would have provided the money to parents to spend on private school or home-schooling expenses to any child who attended public school for as little as a single six-week stretch.

“This is an opportunity to give students trapped in underperforming school systems the ability to move forward,” Miller told the Senate.

But Democrats rejected that premise, saying that $6,000 is not enough to pay tuition in many private schools, meaning that the benefit would likely flow to more affluent families, while not aiding poorer families.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-education-georgia-atlanta-school-vouchers-8c01a39f6f0e192af62ea25e79fe20f1

[Phoenix61]

1. Or fix the public school system. It's not rocket science.

The problem is the answer is money. Spend money on teacher salaries so classes are smaller and teaching becomes an attractive occupation. Provide materials so teachers aren’t coming out of pocket 2-3 grand a year. Stop letting Texas dictate what text books are used.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. No one pays taxes to send their own kids to school, so vouchers are not justified.

Everyone pays property taxes to send everyone's kids to school -- even people without kids; even businesses. It's a shared burden. Removing only your own kids from the school system barely affects the expenses of the school district, so no "refund" for you. If 10% of all kids were removed from the school districts, then expenses would fall by 10%, and all property taxes -- on everyone, not just people with kids in school -- could be lowered by 10%. But you're not going to see numbers that high, except in the very wealthiest communities.