LETTERS: SCHOOL-CHOICE ISSUES

To the editor:

Recently, considerable editorial content has been devoted to the subject of school choice or the voucher system. It has been touted as part of the solution to the educational woes that have befallen our public-school systems. But I cannot recall anyone explaining in detail how it will work. Too many questions have been left unanswered.

First, will any private school be eligible to receive public money, or will certain criteria have to be met? It seems reasonable that some form of accreditation will have to be put into place. Will the private school have to be a minimum physical size in relations to its population? Will the school be required to provide a particular curriculum? Will each school be subject to a testing program or some measure of achievement so that the public is assured that the school is doing its job? In essence, how will this be decided, and who will do it? And if private schools accept public intrusion, won't they be losing much of what makes them special?

Second, let's assume that many of the private schools eligible for public money are affiliated with many different religious groups. What is a school if affiliated with what is considered a crackpot denomination or sect, and it might not be a good idea to give it public money? What if the school teaches something particular to its beliefs that is not consistent with general scientific thought or knowledge? Again, who will decide, and how will it be decided? Separation between church and state is one of the oldest traditions in our nation. We should be cautious treading these waters.

Third, let's assume there will be a rush of applications to schools that can accept only a definite number of students. How will it be decided who is accepted and who is rejected? Will the schools use order of application as a standard, or grade-point averages? Unlike public schools, will they be allowed to reject students with a history of discipline problems? What about private schools that have been established so white children will not have to attend classes with children of other races or ethnic groups? What will be done to open them up or else prevent them from receiving public money? Sen. Peter Kinder has stated that the voucher system will result in greater educational equality for the lower classes. I feel the opposite could be more likely.

Finally, the money issue must be dealth with. Will the private school receive a tuition amount for each student or just those who have transferred from a public school? Whichever it is, the public-school system will be seriously defunded and imminently crippled. Rep. Mary Kasten has stated that in the test locations for school choice this will not happen, that public schools will not lose any public funding while the experiment is going on. This is not a true test. Not unless the plan is to never take away a child's tuition amount from the public-school system when he leaves it to go to a private school but to give the private school and equal amount. That would be economic folly, a financial disaster. From where will all this extra money come? Higher taxes?

Most people would not argue that Missouri could and should do a better job in education its citizens, young and old, to better prepared them for these fast-chaning times. But until the school-choice concept is better refined and explained, we should accept it as another item on the list of good-sounding but silly ideas that belong only in history books.

DAVID K. HARPER

Cape Girardeau