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Voucher supporters seeing double
By John Young
 It was a double whammy this session. For vouchers vouchers, that is.
You read it right: a twofer for supporters of public schools.
Why am I talking in twos? Because of this: Supporters of this specious public policy — vouchers vouchers — are afraid to call these things what they are. You may have noticed.
They want to call them “opportunity scholarships.” Or they want to treat vouchers vouchers and “school choice” as one and the same, when you can have school choice without a school funding vehicle of “choice” whose name they dare not say.
So, when you speak on this subject, speak plainly in the face of propaganda tricks. Join me. Say it twice. Call vouchers vouchers.
A few years ago I was visited by a representative of a group promoting “school choice.” He had a good suit and shiny cuff links. He had glossy brochures and numbers to prove that we were wasting money lavishing it on “failing” public schools.
As this state ranks last nationally in per capita spending, I was not impressed — certainly not by someone who wouldn’t call vouchers vouchers. I said so.
“Well, that’s the difference between us,” said Mr. Cuff Links. “You support institutions. We support children.”
Guilty as charged. I support public schools. I support a firehouse, a police department, a library. Institutions all. All I can say is that people who care about human beings need to stand up for institutions like these.
What’s encouraging is that’s exactly what’s happened in Austin in recent years. Supporters of public schools have been pounding the enemies thereof.
Consider this: Not only did the 81st Texas Legislature reject voucher-voucher bills, the state budget contained language to prevent stealth attempts to implement them. A twin killing.
This is not a development out of the blue. The political momentum has been with school supporters. The biggest development was the creation of the Texas Parent PAC, which provides political support to friends of public schools in either major party. Its successes have been spectacular, to say the least.
The most noteworthy coup was moderate Arlington Republican Diane Patrick’s defeat of former House Education Chairman Kent Grusendorf. On school matters in Austin, Mr. G was a big, big supporter of — yes, yes — vouchers vouchers.
The small-dollar Parent PAC provided a counterpoint to San Antonio financier James Leininger’s big-dollar machinations. Most importantly, it exposed the wafer-thin support for hurtful policies regarding public schools.
You can print up nice brochures and dispatch well-cuffed emissaries and still not convince Texas lawmakers that funneling scarce school dollars to private and parochial schools is a good thing.
My, how things have changed.
Four years ago this was a high-tension matter in the U.S. Supreme Court. Supporters of public schools feared that a ruling allowing public dollars to go to church-run schools would open the floodgates in Texas and elsewhere. In fact, such a ruling came in 2002. And?
Nothing. Supporters of public schools are winning in the court of public opinion. Increasing numbers of Texans would rather use tax dollars for their intended purpose, and not to have them siphoned in the night. Those who would misdirect those dollars say they support public schools, but they know it’s not true.
That’s why you won’t hear plain truth from them, like calling vouchers vouchers.
JOHN YOUNG is a columnist for Cox Newspapers. You can see more of his work at www.johnyoungcolumn.com. He can be reached at jyoungcolumn@gmail.com
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