Las Vegas Sun

November 14, 2009

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Letter: Vouchers violate state constitution

Monday, Aug. 19, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

Voucher programs, such as the one Sen. Maurice Washington (who runs his own church-affiliated school) plans to introduce in Nevada, will not provide choice. Space at non-religious private schools is limited and students will not be guaranteed admission. To support statistical evidence of "superiority" over public schools, private schools will be reluctant to accept students with learning disabilities. Public schools will then be left with a larger proportion of learning disabled students and less funds to provide needed special programs for them.

Most non-religious private schools charge more than the taxpayer-funded subsidy. This means the poor, who can't currently afford tuition, will still not be able to send their children to non-religious private schools. Is this true choice? Voucher programs are nothing more than subsidies for the rich or the religious.

Finally, vouchers for religious schools in Nevada blatantly violate Article 11 Sec. 10 of the Nevada Constitution, which says, "No public funds of any kind or character whatever, State, County or Municipal, shall be used for sectarian purpose." Not only do voucher systems not offer meaningful choice, they force me to pay my tax dollars to support religious indoctrination of children, contrary to the very clear wording in the Nevada Constitution.

MEL LIPMAN

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