School Vouchers Overturned By Court

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/education/2679696/detail.html

DENVER -- A Denver district court judge has overturned Colorado's school voucher program, and said it illegally takes away local control of education.

Denver District Judge Joseph Meyer issued an injunction Wednesday that bars implementation of the voucher law, the first in the nation since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a voucher program in Cleveland last year.

As part of his ruling, Meyer wrote:

"The goals of the voucher program are laudable, and providing vouchers so that select children may use public funds to attend private schools may be an effective means of addressing the educational disparities the General Assembly has recognized. The defendants, particularly the intervenors, seem to argue that since the voucher program is such a bright hope for such a needy population, it must be allowed to proceed. However, even great ideas must be implemented within the framework of the Colorado Constitution. "

The court challenge, filed by a coalition of teachers, religious and education groups, made Colorado the latest battleground in a nationwide fight over vouchers. Supporters say vouchers give poor parents a choice to take their children out of failing public schools and motivate those schools to get better.

the private schools DON'T have to take the poor kids

it does nothing but help those who could afford the private schools anyway and takes funds away from the public schools

Take all the money from the public schools, and make it
so that the ONLY schools you can afford if you aren't rich
are the ones run by fundamentalist xtian churches.

with the pro-voucher people is their focus on 'parents' choice. Sorry, it's the tax payers choice. I'm a property tax payer without children in the public school system and they don't seem to recognize that I should have a say about my tax dollars.

Although I don't use the public school system (no kids for now) I've paid property taxes for many years. The benefit to me is that the tax money was used wisely and one of the top rated schools in the state is in my neighborhood. People are working hard to move into this neighborhood and as a result my property values have increased 4 times. That means my taxes have also increased, but I'm happy to pay it. It goes right back into the school and my neighborhood.

It's an added benefit to a civic duty. I have no duty or obligation to pay for the private education of anyone's children. I do have a civic duty where public education is concerned. Vouchers are a plan to take my tax dollars and put that money in the hands of religeous and private institutions. It robs me and It robs my neighborhood. No thanks. Schools are linked to property values. I hope home owners wise up on this issue.

I had not thought of this aspect of vouchers. I hope you will keep bringing this up. I will mention it to people I know.

eom

You're the first person I've ever heard discussing it, and it's absolutely correct.

Your fresh look at school vouchers is really useful for any future discussions.

if vouchers come up in my city. Vouchers take money out of my neighborhood and place it who knows where? across town? the burbs? Down state? Another state? Private and religeous institutions who have no stake in my neighborhood? Absolutely wrong. My property taxes also go toward police patrol in my area and the beatification of the old buildings and sidewalks and parks around here.

This is the best tax I pay and I'm happy to send the check because I see the results. The local grade school, a public school, is run like a private school. It serves a small four block radius and it's ratings are through the roof. It's one of a few things that make my neighborhood extremely popular.

Daley like him or not has done some great things in the city. The city looks great, plants and flowers downtown, new street signs, bus shelters, improved buses, art, improvement to parks and a drive to keep people with kids in the city by improving schools. We have a far way to go over all, but it's important to look at how far we've come. In the last few years my property values have skyrocketed for a reason. That reason is well spent tax dollars. Some of the most wisely spent of those dollars were on the schools.

I will fight vouchers with everything I have. This is an added benefit to the tax payer. I was already perfectly happy to pay property taxes because such a large percentage goes to the schools. It wasn't until friends with kids started asking me to keep my eyes open for condos and homes in my area going up for sale, that I realized I was greatly benefiting from all this. I looked around and saw how much my little area had prospered, how old buildings were restored, cultural services and opportunities and so many other things that I recognized what the GOP was up to. Out and out robbery of our property values.

I also think that homeowners haven't really looked at their interest in public schools. Even things like 'creation science' and conservative groups dictating curriculum can effect how a school is percieved and therefore how much people with kids want to move in to your area/town. Hate to use a cliche but when the GOP sticks it's nose into your schools, you can pretty much say, There goes the neighborhood!

Peace

if this holds it may stymie efforts to get a state voucher program here in CA. Basic services (read, schools, fire, police and infrastructure repairs) are already being being starved by our shrinking tax base. Arnold's repeal of the registration fee increase was one more blow - that money was earmarked for fire and police services. Thanks for the post.