I’m writing in support of Beverly Tuck’s stand on school vouchers for the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. She quotes the Illinois League president’s warning: “School vouchers will spend our public dollars in ways that are not transparent, and voucher programs lack the accountability and oversight provided by public schools.” Bravo for emphasizing transparency because that point often gets lost in the broader debate.
My concerns come from personal experience. When my children were young and we lived in Chicago, I volunteered for my daughter’s Protestant parochial school finance committee. I was the first non-church member included — and probably the last. I served when the state was close to passing a voucher law. On that committee I watched an unnecessary tuition increase being planned to take advantage of the expected new funding. The additional revenue was also intended to offset the church’s traditional support for the school so that the saved money could be redirected to the pastor’s pet mission of printing tracts to distribute to children and neighbors condemning and ostracizing Mormons.
In an unusual moment of religious cooperation, our school also worked with neighboring Catholic schools to ensure that all would raise tuition by the same amount, minimizing student transfers between them. My objections were brushed aside by the rest of the committee, but the experience left a lasting impression: religious institutions need as much oversight — if not more — as government. Price fixing, gouging, creative accounting — surely not from religious institutions? I was amazed that no one seemed to see the problem. Yet I could clearly see how my taxes might soon help finance actions I strongly disagreed with.
Private schools and churches are still run by humans, so no one should be surprised that there can be misuse of funds, anti-competitive behavior, and troubling outcomes. Education is already struggling with tax accountability; let’s not make it worse. I doubt many voucher advocates would support the level of regulation necessary to protect taxpayer money. If people object to government regulating churches or private schools, that’s understandable — but in return, those institutions should remain truly private and not receive direct or indirect public funding.
Kurt Hedlund
Oak Park