Public education has always been one of America’s boldest ideas.
That every child matters.
That every child belongs.
And that the quality of a child’s education shouldn’t depend on the size of their parents’ bank account.
It’s an imperfect promise. We haven’t always lived up to it. But for generations, we’ve moved closer by investing in public schools that welcome every student.
Now leaders in Washington are asking us to move in the opposite direction.
A new federal voucher tax credit would send billions of taxpayer dollars toward private school tuition. Each governor has the ability to opt in or to reject the program in their state. This redirection of resources is being marketed as expanding opportunity.
But if we’re serious about giving every child a better education, we should be asking a different question: Why are we investing in a system that serves some children instead of strengthening the schools that serve them all?
Supporters call this “school choice.”
Who doesn’t want families to have choices?
Parents choose neighborhoods. They choose schools. They choose career and technical education programs, magnet schools, Advanced Placement courses, homeschooling, religious schools and countless other educational opportunities every day.
Choice has never been the issue.
The issue is whether taxpayers should subsidize private choices while the public schools that educate nearly 90 percent of America’s children are asked to do more with less.
New Yorkers seem to understand this. Recent polling of New York voters found that taxpayers overwhelmingly believe their dollars are better spent improving public schools than funding vouchers for private school tuition - by a margin of more than seven to one.
That instinct is right.
Public schools don’t choose which children they serve.
They welcome children with profound disabilities.
The student learning English for the first time.
The teenager who enrolls halfway through the school year.
The child whose family just lost everything.
The gifted student.
The struggling reader.
The future engineer.
The future artist.
The future welder.
Every child.
Every day.
That’s not just what public schools do.
It’s who they are.
Private schools play an important role in many communities, and families have every right to choose them.
But private schools are fundamentally different. They aren’t required to accept every student. They aren’t held to the same standards as public schools. They were never designed to include every child.
Public schools were.
That’s why they deserve our first investment - not what’s left over.
Supporters of this new federal tax credit argue that it creates opportunity.
But research from states with long-standing voucher programs tells a different story.
The overwhelming majority of students receiving vouchers were already enrolled in private schools before taxpayers began subsidizing their tuition.
Think about that.
We’re asking taxpayers to pay for private educational choices families have already made.
At the same time, public schools are facing unprecedented challenges.
Students need more mental health support than ever before.
Schools are working to address chronic absenteeism.
Special education costs continue to rise.
Teachers are being asked to prepare students for an increasingly complex world shaped by artificial intelligence, misinformation and rapidly changing careers.
Communities expect schools to provide academic excellence, school safety, career preparation, counseling, nutrition, extracurricular activities and so much more.
And somehow we’re told there isn’t enough money.
Not enough for smaller class sizes.
Not enough for reading specialists.
Not enough for school psychologists.
Not enough to modernize aging buildings.
Not enough to recruit and retain the best teachers.
But somehow there’s enough to create a massive new federal subsidy for private school tuition? It doesn’t add up.
If we truly believe every child deserves an effective and well-rounded education, our most valuable investment should be in the one system that promises to educate every child.
Not some children.
Every child.
Here in New York, we’ve spent generations building strong public schools.
Public education is one of the few institutions that still brings people together across lines that too often divide us.
Children from different backgrounds learn alongside one another.
They solve problems together.
They discover common ground.
They prepare not only for careers, but for citizenship.
In a time when our country feels increasingly divided, public schools remain one of the last places where democracy is practiced every single day.
That’s worth protecting.
Governors across the country now have an important choice to make.
States can participate in this new federal voucher tax credit program or they can opt out and say that their first responsibility is to the public schools that educate nearly every child.
New Yorkers have already weighed in. Recent polling shows a strong majority oppose opting in, once they understand what’s actually at stake.
Our governor should listen.
Because this debate isn’t really about vouchers.
It’s about values.
Do we believe public education is a public good worthy of public investment?
For more than a century, New York’s answer has been yes.
It should still be yes today.
Public education is our promise to the next generation. And that’s a promise worth keeping.
Melinda Person is president of the nearly 700,000-member New York State United Teachers.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
