From: John Hurley
Richland
Indiana’s largest-in-the-nation school voucher program has pitted public and private schools in previously tight-knit communities against each other. Public and private schools that once willingly worked together for the betterment of all students now must weigh decisions based on a competition model. Schools are forced to divert needed resources to marketing and social media campaigns — resources that would otherwise help students. Private schools even utilize official school email to directly promote or oppose legislation — something that would likely cause a massive uproar if conducted by a public school.
While public schools (and students) suffer the most under the voucher system, some private schools are also victims. Many initially resisted accepting vouchers, objecting to government interference. Most were eventually coerced by unscrupulous politicians and nefarious “school choice” groups. As a result, many legacy donor families ended their contributions, and traditional fundraising was replaced by recruiting students for voucher funding. Many are now reliant on the state.
Private schools should not depend on taxpayer dollars to educate their students.
Unfortunately, those looking to further divide our communities have proposed a massive voucher expansion in House Bill 1005, outlined in the House Bill 1001 budget, which strips support from public schools and forces private schools to become more reliant on the government.
We must contact our state senators and state representatives and ask them to oppose HB 1005 and remove the voucher expansion in the budget. Tell our legislators to stop dividing our communities.
