In response, district officials have filed a motion requesting that the court allow them to carry out their pilot vouchers, through which they have already distributed over $158,000 of public funds to private schools for 14o students. The defense argues that since the money has already been distributed it would be nonsensical to cancel the program because doing so would only serve to inconvenience the families of the students involved.
The debate over vouchers is not an unfamiliar one. In Baltimore, city officials continue to oppose proposals for voucher programs. Though there are surely numerous reasons for the rejection of vouchers in Baltimore, it is likely that the major point of contention revolves around spending public funds on tuition for private schools with religious affiliations. Many existing voucher programs appear to offer students and their families anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000. In Baltimore City, this amount of money would afford students entry into schools like Archbishop Curley High School or Mercy High School, which are both parochial schools with mission statements promoting Christian beliefs and values. Tuition for these schools is slightly above $11,000. To send students to any of the elite private schools in and around the city that are not religiously affiliated might cost upwards of $20,000 a year.
If Baltimore city officials were to adopt a voucher program, they may find themselves facing a lawsuit similar to the one facing Douglas county officials. Are such lawsuits the beginning of the end for vouchers programs as a means of urban school reform?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/douglas-county-school-boa_n_908961.html
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