Pros and Cons on School Vouchers

* Re “It’s Not a Good Choice for Our Poor Families,” Commentary, July 27: John E. Coons and Stephen D. Sugarman have three fundamental flaws in their argument against Prop. 38, the school voucher initiative. The first is that it would only benefit the rich who can afford private schools. I send two children to private school, and the cost is about $3,300 per student annually.

The second is that we would have students from rich families fleeing public schools. Not only have poor families benefited most from existing voucher programs, but assuming that their supposition were true, then Prop. 38 would leave an additional $2,000 in public schools per student who leaves.

Finally, families who choose to opt out of the public schools would not “have some or all of that schooling paid for by the state.” The state has no money other than what it takes from taxpayers (i.e. the very families who have paid the state in the first place).

DAVID VARGHA

Simi Valley

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If reader David Moore (letter, July 28) is concerned over the lack of accountability in public schools, he should be shocked by the kind of voucher schools created by Prop. 38. This ballot measure offers no accountability for the publicly funded private schools that would replace public education in our state. Here are some examples:

Teachers are not required to be credentialed, have any special training or even have a college degree. Students can be socially promoted and are not required to pass an exit exam to graduate from high school. Standardized test scores are shown to parents and are not reported. Schools are exempt from audits and from health and safety codes.

Parents who home-school with a single “student” can get $4,000 of taxpayer money for their “school.” Schools can discriminate based on gender, religion, language, academic or physical ability.

It’s a shame that the California Teachers Assn. has to spend millions to save public schools. We could ask the same question of Prop. 38’s sponsor, Tim Draper. Wouldn’t his $20-million campaign war chest be better spent on schools, teacher salaries and textbooks?

BILL LAKIN

Wrightwood