Letter: Most Americans agree: Vouchers fail our children

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

Only two cities in the United States, Milwaukee and Cleveland, and one state, Florida, currently have voucher programs. These voucher plans are mired in controversy and embroiled in legal entanglement.

And where does the nation's oldest and largest volunteer parent organization, the National PTA, stand on this issue? It opposes vouchers and supports the use of public funds for public schools.

Why? Because vouchers shift society's commitment away from supporting public schools, which open their doors to all children and are accountable to the public. Private schools are not required to conduct student achievement tests and, if they do, are not required to publicize the results. There are no comprehensive, objective data to document and compare private school achievement. No accountability.

Every child in America must have access to an excellent public education. Vouchers do not provide classroom support services, technology, textbooks, smaller classrooms, teacher training, or before- and after-school care to our children, all of which have been proven to enhance student achievement.

Instead, they reduce current funding for public education, where 90 percent of children are enrolled, and shift society's commitment from supporting public schools that are accountable, to private schools that are not.

BRENDA KENNEDY Nevada PTA president