Robert Reich in The Wall Street Journal

On Education: $10,000 vouchers for poor kids in private & charter schools

The only way to begin to decouple poor kids from lousy schools is to give poor kids additional resources, along with vouchers enabling them and their parents to choose how to use them. Per-pupil public expenditures now average between $6,000 & $7,000 a year. Ideally, a child from America's poorest 20% of families would receive a voucher worth between $10,000 & $12,000. Children from families in the next quintile would receive vouchers worth between $8,000 & $10,000. The vouchers could be used at any school that meets certain minimum standards, regardless of whether the school is now dubbed "public," "charter'' or ‘'private.'' (Leave aside, for now, the tricky First Amendment issue of public money for religious schools.)

What would be the likely result of such progressive vouchers? Schools already in easy geographic reach of poor kids would get an immediate infusion of billions of dollars. Wealthier suburban schools would have even greater incentive to compete for students from poor families.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Op-Ed, "Progressive Vouchers" Sep 6, 2000

The above quotations are from Columns and news articles on NY politics in The Wall Street Journal. Click here for other excerpts from Columns and news articles on NY politics in The Wall Street Journal. Click here for other excerpts by Robert Reich. Click here for a profile of Robert Reich.
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