[Vision2020] MSD and Vouchers

[John Harrell]

Mr. Dovovan Arnold,

Wow, you almost got there with this one, didn't you.

Parents helping parents. People helping people. Great idea!

Parents should get together, without "the government", to determine
the best way for them to educate their children. For example, as you
said below, parents with children of special needs can get together to 
support and help one another. This is great! I am all for it! Parental 
involvement would be wonderful, and as discussed elsewhere, this is 
possibly what is helping some children succeed.

Great idea!

Cheers!
John Harrell


--- Donovan Arnold <donovanarnold@hotmail.com> wrote:

---------------------------------

Dale,

I am going to make this as simple as possible so even you can understand the problems
with your suggestions.


Imagine a small town with a school of only 100 children.


The entire community all chips in, regardless of if they have children or not, to reach
$1 million to educate them.


Ten of the children have a disability of some kind, five are in dire poverty, and 10 are
non-christians. 


The ten disabled children and five impoverished children cost the community $400,000. The
remaining 85 children cost $600,000.


A group of parents decide that the average cost of educating a child is $10,000 a piece.
They also calculate the cost of a neighboring community Christian School only costs
$10,000 and year and that school has test scores twice as high as the community school.


So they try to argue that they should get their ten thousand dollars from the community
to send their child to the other school.


Let us pretend that they get their way in your fiction society.


So they get their ten grand and 25% of the students transfer to the other private school.
The disabled children were told they would be charged $40,000 because of the increased
costs if they wanted to attend. Outside of the budget for all the parents. The
impoverished parents could not afford the transportation costs and food costs because
they were not given free food or transportation. 


The ten non-christian students were denied entrance because they were not Christian
and/or parents rejected the religious curriculum.


The remaining 75 children all applied too, unfortunately, they all did not test high
enough and only 1/3 of those students were accepted, the top 1/3. 


The remaining students consist of the 10 disabled children, 5 impoverished students, and
the bottom ranking 2/3 on test scores and a reduced budget of only $750,000.


15 of the remaining students take $400,000 of the $750,000. That leaves $350,000 for the
remaining 60 students in the school. Or, $5,833 for the remaining students.


Those 60 students are 60% of the original population. They had $7,058 being spent on
them. Now they have $5,833 a piece.


This is not increasing opportunity, this is decreasing opportunity. 


Other side effects are. 


Loss of jobs in the community.


Lower test scores for the students because the highest testing students left.


Reduced state funding because the population declined. 


Why should members of the community contribute to the declined education of 60% of the
students in favor of the top 25% privileged students?


Why is it that you don't see this concept and the majority of US Citizens do?


Why do you ignore these fact?


Thanks!


Donovan J Arnold


  


 




 







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