The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Would you support a school voucher program in California?
(School vouchers give parents the freedom to choose a private school for their children, using all or part of the public funding set aside for their child’s education.)
Talk about it….
56 comments
Probably yes but I would like to see how well private schools are doing. So much depends on the teachers ability to teach. The other worry I would have is, as soon as the government gets involved in payment the prices go up. Look what student loans did to the price of college. A Catholic High School is over twenty thousand dollars right now.
yes
Absolutely!
Definitely.
Absolutely.
It is my understanding that school vouchers can give parents the funds needed to pay for enrolling their children into a private school and pay for tuition and books. In my opinion, it will be money well spent. Take all the students out of public schools, and place them in private schools, then sit back and watch the public school system fail. After the schools fail, the money that was used for public schools can be shifted over to the vouchers.
Schools have already failed. That doesn’t mean they are going out of business. They may close from lower enrolment but that only means that places like San Francisco are too expensive for people with children to live.
NO
Absolutely! 100%! …reported today … Calif public schools ares just about the worst in country in Math & English academics…. not too long ago Calif was in the top 5 of the country… and …. Calif funds among the highest $$ / pupil in the country… Calif teachers and admin are among the highest paid in the country (from MDUSD state auditors) … what’s wrong with this picture!?
No. Reduced funding for public schools will directly affect the quality of education to those children whose parents can’t afford private schools, even if vouchers are available to those parents.
This is a classic example of a simplistic solution to a complex problem when that simplistic solution is wrong.
Well that’s not true. If more kids go to private schools there will be less students in the public schools, which will in turn cost public schools less
So your suggestion is what? Throw more mountains of taxpayer dollars at inept district superintendents, principals, administrators and teachers? For what? So they can continue to prioritize perceived racial and gender inequities instead of teaching our students to compete in the real world?
Hey Concord Guy, the only people that could be against it are Teachers Unions, School Boards that are in the pockets of those Unions, and Hard core Leftists W/O Kids. Are you one of those?
No way! Our stupid “leaders” have ruined the CA public schools now they want to go after the private schools. No! Stay out of our lives.
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Yes.
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Allow public and private schools to compete for students.
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But the CA Teachers Union (CTA) has too many Democrat legislators in their pocket to allow this type of common sense legislation.
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But they have been competing with each other.
If the playing field needs to be leveled, private schools can lower their tuition.
I respectfully disagree. The best way to level the playing field is to judge the quality of the education and according to the NAEP private school students tend to outperform. Therefore public schools need to improve the quality of the education they provide.
However there is something bigger here. Now that politics have become so entrenched in education, public schools will have a much tougher time with student retention. It appears there’s a segment of the population that are not interested in having their children exposed to sexual topics, LGBTQ or otherwise, and discussion of gender flexibility. As such more parents will play it safe and go the private route.
So if public schools choose politics over education, then they truly can’t compete and they are making the choice not to compete.
So much of what people “think” is being taught in public schools is based on what they are hearing from conservative media and politicians. How many of those folks have actually sat in a classroom to observe what’s being taught? It would be safe to say very very few if any. I’m quite sure that these same people have never once requested copies of lesson plans which parents are entitled to. My suggestion is not to assume or complain until you do your due diligence and do your own homework.
You can thank Gavin Newsom for contributing to the problem.
When a school board rejects a textbook, Newsom buys and ships the books anyway along with a fine. Such actions take curriculum decisions out of the hands of trained educators and place them with a single politician. If a district wants to continue, they’ll have to do things his way. There is a risk in that.
So ITSME
Have you sat in a classroom and/or requested lesson plans? I have sat with my children, I have seen their homework & text books, and I have spoken with them about what is being taught in the class, so per your words, I can speak to this topic.
Public schools need to improve the quality of their curriculum.
Politics need to be removed from the classroom.
Gender Flexibility needs to be removed from the younger conversations.
California schools are rated 38th out of 50 states. 21st in safety. Bontas suing Chino school district to stop a rule to notify parents if a student asks to be treated as a gender other than what they were born. Those are just some of the facts not conservative media. (which is a typical liberal statement) the state does not own our children. Vouchers will save our kids and our future.
Parent, I retired from teaching many years ago when things were much more straight forward and simpler. We did not have to deal with the issues of today. It sounds like you are committed to being involved in your children’s education. I thank you and commend you for that. Sadly not all parents are. I agree, school curriculum should frequently be reevaluated and improved upon. The teachers are given guidelines by administrators, people who generally have had no education whatsoever as to what is appropriate for different ages based on their brain development. I hope you engage in such conversation with the teachers and staff of the schools that your children attend. We are also in agreement that politics per se need to be out of the classroom until high school when political science and critical thinking classes are offered as discussions. I am also of the belief that religion should play no part in public schools. That would only be appropriate at private schools. I’d be curious to know exactly what you mean by gender flexibility and what ages you refer to. The point of my original post was that the media and politicians need to refrain from offering assumptions as to what is being offered as curriculum unless they have seen first hand. Talking assumptions without facts is dangerous and quite frankly done to rile the public up. Again, thank you for being part of your children’s education.
Yes!
With all the weird insanity taught in public schools now, I would absolutely support this.
Why do you feel that private schools offer something so radically different? Genuine question.
They don’t.
Same children, just parents with different incomes. And beliefs.
And the very difficult children don’t usually get put into private schools.
Public schools have to take them. Privates don’t.
Simple Answer: Accountability!
Never.
Yes.
Yes. Currently, if you send your children to a private school, you are still paying for the public school. If there was a voucher system, everyone who pays taxes would still be funding the schools, but those who chose the voucher wouldn’t be paying for both.
Yes
-and this is coming from a long-time staunch supporter of public schools. But the pandemic changed that for me, as well as the way the schools by and large have raised ideology over the basics. I think there are a lot of dedicated, hard working teachers in public schools, but there are a lot who are young, inexperienced ideologues as well, and in short, I think the teachers unions have allowed the inmates to run the asylum. Public schools in California have repeatedly terrible performances at the basics (unless they are in very wealthy areas).
Recent polling has shown a stunning, embarrassing, sad amount of kids CANNOT READ at grade level (!!)
and that is a real problem that they just refuse to acknowledge. What other profession do you get to do a subpar job and then continually demand more money (aside from the homeless advocacy groups)?
It’s time to let parents decide where there education money is spent and restore education in California to being the great equalizer between the haves and the have-nots as it used to be. Whoever is using their money well, getting measurable results and producing kids who are prepared to be working adults will get the money from parents, and others will follow suit.
So much of what people “think” is being taught in public schools is based on what they are hearing from conservative media and politicians. How many of those folks have actually sat in a classroom to observe what’s being taught? It would be safe to say very very few if any. I’m quite sure that these same people have never once requested copies of lesson plans which parents are entitled to. My suggestion is not to assume or complain until you do your due diligence and do your own homework.
Absolutely not. I want my taxes to go to public schools, every penny toward making them the best education and experience for the students, teachers, and other school personnel.
Definition of insanity.
The lines are drawn. All the libbies are no, all the cons are yes. Good thing the libs are triple vaccinated and masked. They will disappear soon.
Hey Sam I agree with something you said….all the “cons” are yes. 🤣🤣🤣
Absolutely
We should all have a choice and not be forced to send our kids to a bad school.
I don’t know who could disagree with this.
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Seems liberals think you should be forced to send your kids to bad schools. But don’t worry, they also don’t think you should be allowed to opt your flesh and blood out of LGBLMNOPQ+ indoctrination. I would NEVER let my child near a public school. The staff alone are deranged, let alone the system as a hole.
Yes!
Okayyyy … as long as we gotta voucher …
@Mr Newsbaum
Yes, and one more thing. The vouchers should be redeemable for products and services that are deemed educational for those who choose to home school. Don’t like the decisions they make? Audit them.
I support school vouchers in all states!
No, vouchers re a subsidy for rich people to send their kids to private schools with public money. Put all the money back into the school budget that was removed by both parties over the years.
Absolutely not, BECAUSE the last time there was an attempt for a voucher initiative 25 or 30 years ago, the State legislature was preparing a bill to pass if the voucher initiative passed, and the bill would redefine a public school as any school that received government funding, automatically turning every school that accepted vouchers into a de facto public school and requiring them to follow all of the same crippling regulations that public schools have to follow, from. Curriculum to so iali doctrination. Etc.
Someone I knew at the time made an editorial comment on that proposed bill: where government money goes, government control follows.
Better to give parents some type of tax credit for educational expenses than to give them vouchers to pay schools.
MOMBEARTO4,
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This reminds me of what the City of Brentwood is working on, they’re attempting to redefine the definition of “schools” to include “daycares,” so the city can further limit liquor licenses based on distance from a daycare, further limit hours a business can sell or serve alcohol based on distance from a daycare, and requiring other mitigation solutions based on the type of liquor license being sought.
Perhaps end government schools. We see what they are teaching our children during their formative years.
not only would I support it, but I’d help promote it!! Do it!!
Only if the private schools are non-profit.
Best solution is to move out of this cesspool of a state. Give yourself and your kids a much better life…
No. Enough with the government handouts!
Our tax dollars fund free public school systems governed by school boards elected by we the people. If you don’t like your free local school, do what millions of other parents do. Move! Let it be an incentive to you to work harder and be more successful in life so you can afford to live in a better school district. Or work harder and be more successful so you can afford to send your children to the private school of your choice. Don’t expect the government to pay for your child’s private schooling. Take financial responsibility for your own children and stop looking for government handouts.
You are so full of STUFF, remember what the MDUSD board, Teachers Union, and CCC office of education did to Northgate Parents when they tried & were thwarted in their attempt to form their own District.
The Northgate parents who failed in their attempt to form a new district were free to either send their children to a private school or move to a different district if they did not want to remain in a MDUSD school. It’s a free country. Nobody was forcing them to live in the Northgate area. Nobody was forcing them to send their children to public schools.
Not only yes, but HELL YES!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tDWid8u-bU0
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Sadly it’ll never happen since schools are paid by the number of students and public “teachers” are a huge voting block that seems to get everything they want from cowardly compromised politicians who rely on their votes to keep those sweet cushy tax-eating jobs.
I would support anything that gets kids out of the indoctrination centers run by the mentally challenged Democrats in this state these people that for some reason are running the state hate American citizens they hate this country and want to destroy it and they’re doing a good job communists
Chicago Teachers Union president enrolled child in private school, sources confirm
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-teachers-union-president-enrolled-child-in-private-school-sources-confirm/3223077/
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