There is an error in your second sentence. Now, please feel free to delete this comment for non-PC content.

Typo fixed. Thank you very much.

This could easily be fixed by our state legislature, by enacting a school choice program for those in failing districts. With a voucher that could be used at any public, private, or parochial school, students would be not trapped in the district their parents could afford, but could go where the education was best. Will the Post-Dispatch editorial board be supporting such an apartheid ending, child saving policy in the future?

Mr. Roth,
Professor Carter appears to be in favor of a voucher system.
“One obvious response would be to give poor families in the inner cities the money they need to purchase private education for their children. But this the Democratic Party steadfastly opposes.”
Since you say the column was great, do you agree? I am not convinced that a voucher system would improve education in the absence of parents who put no effort into educating their children.

He does say that married parents that care about their children’s future might help. How do suggest we do that?

So does the PD not have the nerve to come out and say marriage and vouchers are good for children? You can only put in a link to the NYT for that. I bet Mr. Carter would consent to you publishing his opinion — the editorial board could even say they agree.

There are a number of ways to address the educational inequities currently afflicting many of St. Louis’ children. The creation of a single, metropolitan school district (rather than perpetuating the multiplicity of districts which ensure economic and racial segregation) would be one approach. Such a restructuring would mix children from different economic, racial, geographic and cultural backgrounds — resulting in an enrollment that really would resemble the population of our metro area. It might also eliminate the embarrassing differences in expenditures-per-student that is currently the case. Politically risky — yes; potentially helpful — no doubt.

tmnolan,

Another way to address the problem would be to make the districts much smaller. That way each parent and student would be more responsible for their education. The differences in per student spending actually reflect the fact that students outside the city get many fewer dollars. Unless of course, you count the time parents spend with their children teaching them, perhaps you could force each parent that already does a good job to spend the same time with another student with parents who don’t. You might solve some inequality that way too — of course it sounds a lot like forced servitude, which our country just happened to fight a civil war about.

Nick,

Do you truly believe that a voucher would solve the tuition problem for poor students or children whose parents are barely able to make ends meet? How will these parents come up with the remaining tuition due?

Who do you think will be last on the tadem pole to be accepted into private schools? No doubt, poor Black children.

Who do you think will benefit lest or at all from tution vouchers? No doubt, poor Black children.

You voucher activists should be ashamed of yourselves, but you are not, why?

D. Walker,

Did you even read the column referenced here? The guy who wrote it at least admits a voucher system might help.

I suppose you might propose the child (or their parent) could get some government subsidized loan for their education similar to what college students do.

I really don’t care how private schools choose to accept students, they are private right, so they should get to choose how to accept students however they want.

Next you ask who will benefit the least from a voucher system - teachers and administrative staff that aren’t worth their salt. If they have to teach or work in a private institution they might actually earn their 401k instead of forcing us to pay their outrageous pensions.

If you think poor black kids will lose the most in the deal, I would counter with the SLPS system doesn’t give them much of anything right now so they wouldn’t be losing anything.

You ask why people in favor of voucher’s are not ashamed of themselves. Perhaps they have actually worked for their paychecks and feel no shame in that. Perhaps they might even feel they have a right to all of their paycheck rather than having a bunch of moochers down in city hall who have never done an honest day’s work rob it from them in taxes.

D-Walker, How is the current public education system currently helping the poor, black children you mentioned? While I agree that some kids will be turned away because of their skin color at some private schools, many will not. With a voucher system, many children in the failed St. Louis Public School system would have a chance to get the solid education they have no chance at getting today.

Why would anyone be against school choice?

< I suppose you might propose the child (or their parent) could get some
< government subsidized loan for their education similar to what college
< students do.

What planet are you guys living on? How many poor families do you think will qualify for student loans?

The only thing I am saying is that its shameful to push vouchers as something that will benefit the poor, such as the poor in urban school districts. It will only cause poor students in the STLPS to be worst off with worst schools.

Maybe people should begin looking into home-school type curriculum and style for urban schools. There are ways and methods of assuring good education for all.

But vouchers would be great for all middle class and lower middle-class families who have the ability to move into decent school districts.