LGISD Board Adopts Resolution Against Vouchers
La Grange School board members voted Monday to approve a resolution calling on the Texas Legislature to reject any diversion of public dollars from public school to private entities in the form of education savings accounts and similar voucher plans. Trustee Calvin Mersiovsky left before the vote was taken. There was no opposition.
The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) created the resolution against vouchers and gave it to LGISD for consideration with the idea that “board resolutions will amplify this effort – sending a clear and unified message to lawmakers in Austin that local school boards stand against privatizing our public schools and oppose the sending of public dollars to private schools.”
The complete resolution is below:
WHEREAS,Article 7, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution requires that the Texas Legislature “establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools;” WHEREAS, Texas public school districts accept every student; WHEREAS, education savings accounts and other voucher schemes give private schools, not parents, the right to choose; WHEREAS, Texas public schools adhere to state-mandated academic and financial accountability standards; WHEREAS, private schools are not required to meet the same academic standards as public schools, and they do not report test results, graduation rates, and other performance measures to the public; WHEREAS, school choice already exists in the Texas via public school districts, charter schools, inter- and intra-district transfers, home schools, virtual schools, and private schools; WHEREAS, education savings accounts and similar voucher schemes eliminate public accountability of schools and tax dollars; WHEREAS, using tax dollars to pay for tuition at private and religious schools would grow into a costly entitlement program; WHEREAS, a taxpayer-funded voucher program would reduce the amount of state funds available for all schools, harming many rural Texas communities where families have few, if any, private school options; and WHEREAS, Texas parents who accept a voucher would lose out on a long list of important parental rights outlined in Texas state education code and in federal law, especially protections for students receiving special education services; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the La Grange ISD Board of Trustees calls on the Texas Legislature to reject any diversion of public dollars to private entities in the form of education savings accounts and similar voucher schemes.
Before he left prior to the vote, board member Calvin Mersiovsky said, “I think all of us in this room believe in public education, that’s why we’re here. Unfortunately, we see different directions that people want to move us into and a big part of that is library books. I think we have a lot of upset parents who go into our libraries even at the elementary level. My feeling is that these kids aren’t ready to digest the information that is given to them in these books. It’s not about banning books, I think age appropriate is a better word for it.And unfortunately I think that is why we are seeing this push.”
Superintendent Andy McHazlett stated, “As a superintendent of a public school, I better be of the opinion that this (public school education) is the way to go because if I don’t advocate for what I do, then why am I here? We don’t get to pick and choose who we service and if dollars are held away from us, it will be interesting to see how we service everyone.A lot of private schools do not have to allow everyone in. They get to select who gets to come in. A lot of them do not allow students with special needs to enroll into their schools, or they look at the severity of the needs and if they can’t give the appropriate education, they just don’t allow them in. We (in the public school) don’t have that choice. If the student in is our district, we have to provide service to them – whatever their need.”
Board member Anthony Wessels stated, “It seems that this is all divided down party lines at the state level and my opinion is that politics does not have a role in public education. We as trustees and advocates of public schools and where we are pushing our leadership for parental involvement and community involvement, can develop what we want out of our school as we have just done with the strategic plan.”