Dave Bradley: School Voucher Law Yet Another Far Right Scam
Dave Bradley blogs about Iowa, and he has noticed that Iowa’s new voucher law has encouraged some religious schools to soak the taxpayers.
As if anyone should be surprised, the law granting vouchers to parents sending their children to private schools appears to be turning into a scam that will take tax dollars from Iowa’s poor and middle class and funneling that money to to Iowas wealthier citizens who can pay for private schools anyway.
Whether or not it was this was the effect that legislators and the governor expected, it became a reality as private schools across the state raised their tuition fees. Had the so-called individual education savings accounts been able to totally cover tuition before, it is doubtful they will now.
Most poor and middle class families do not have any extra money to be paying any tuition. Thus their dreams of escaping an envisioned failing public school system (as painted by far right wing MAGA politicians around the country) for a much better private school system has been bashed as the private schools have raised tuitions once again out of the reach of those that the far right claimed this bill would help.
Let me point out that in Iowa while the right has done what it could to starve the public school system, it is still robust in Iowa. It is nothing like right wing media describes it. Nor are private schools all better than any public school. Also do not forget that private schools do not answer to a school board or any public. They answer to a board of directors as any business does.
Having said all that, by raising tuitions, private schools once again priced themselves above he poor and middle class. Thus private schools will be the home of the progeny of the wealthy. Thanks to the voucher bill passed by the legislature last January and promptly signed by the governor, those wealthy will have some portion of their school costs underwritten by taxpayers that did not underwrite those costs last year.
Read the full piece to see some of the actual pricetags that have gone up.