Temple ISD Superintendent Bobby Ott has fielded questions about school choice vouchers for the past week — an emergency legislative item that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promoted during a visit to Temple.
Under the proposed program, parents would be allowed to take the money that would have funded their children’s learning at a public school and spend it instead on alternative schooling options such as private schools.
“The community, either via email, text or phone call, had questions about what this is all about,” Ott told the Telegram. “So after about the 15th or 20th response, I thought it would probably be a good idea to inform the community of the details behind the idea of school choice.” His remarks came on the heels of Abbott’s guest appearance Monday at the Central Texas Christian School in Temple, during which the program was promoted.
“Public education plays a vital role in our state,” Abbott said during the Parent Empowerment Coalition-hosted event. “I went to public schools here in the state of Texas, my entire education life, and I’m proud to say that many of the schools that we have in the state of Texas are outstanding.”
Although he noted several bragging rights about public schools in Texas and ensured that the state will continue to increase available funding for public schools, Abbott — who was reelected as governor last November — stressed that money does not always lead to better results.
“When I was going to school, I was taught the basics of reading, writing, math and science,” he said.
“But maybe most importantly, we were inspired,” Abbott said. “We were inspired by our country’s founding and how the United States of America stands apart from the rest of the world as the beacon for liberty and opportunity in the entire world.”
However, Ott emphasized how this model, which the Texas Legislature repeatedly has dismissed, would not actually provide a choice for many Texas families.
“The real choice rests in the selective admissions process among non-public schools,” he said. “Public state agencies cannot regulate the non-public school admission process. Non-public schools can include or exclude whomever they choose in student selection.”
The 2022 Texas Superintendent of the Year added how the state already does practice some forms of school choice — as parents can transfer their children to schools within or outside of their district or choose to send them to free charter schools — and questioned if there are any alternative schooling options that currently accept students with English-language learning needs, children with disabilities or children with less financial means in large numbers.
For him the answer is, “No.”
School options “Private schools will still retain the right to pick and choose which kids they want, no matter if the parent desires their child to attend a particular school on an education voucher or savings account,” he said. “So the idea of a real ‘parent choice’ is a false narrative.”
Ott identified other issues, including how there would be a lack of financial reporting with alternative schooling options, how a voucher might not cover the entire cost of tuition, how there would be a lack of oversight in regards to curriculum and instruction, and how resources would be diverted away from an already underfunded system.
“This is a parachute for a select few,” he said. “This has real potential for creating a segregated society based on economics, disabilities, special needs, etc., and we all know what happens in a divided society. I am very, very concerned about this because that is just a part of history that we do not want to repeat.”
The fifth-year superintendent alluded to states that previously have attempted to implement a statewide school choice voucher program.
“Take Arizona for example,” he said. “Of the families who have used their school choice vouchers, 80% already had their children in private schools. In New Hampshire, the number was 89%, and in Wisconsin, it was 75%. So is it really benefiting families?”
Last year, taxpayers in about 30 states provided about $5 billion to send kids to private schools, according to Scott Jensen, senior strategist for the American Federation for Children, an organization geared toward expanding voucher-like programs across the country.
Public school funding, improvements Texas is ranked 40th in public school funding at $12,649 per student, while the national average is $15,446 per student.
Ott urged Abbott and Texas legislators to place their focus on the education system that is already before them.
“Pulling money from an already underfunded system is not an attempt to improve the system,” he said. “If you truly have issues with public schools, then lawmakers should create legislation that fixes these matters within the system versus running elsewhere and creating more problems. For example, legislation that requires more parent approval or decision-making, public reporting thereof, curriculum audits, etc.”
Ott made a point of how his firm stance against school choice vouchers is not because he disapproves of alternative schooling options such as private schools, nor is it because he is against the teachings of certain religions.
“I think educating Texas students is a very, very good thing no matter where it’s at,” he said. “What I am doing is disqualifying the false information that parents don’t already have a choice, because they do.
“This isn’t about parent choice. That’s false. That’s a false bumper sticker. This is about subsidizing private education.”