Don't fall for empty promises of school vouchers

I grew up in public schools. As a kid, that's where I got my education, both social and academic. My family wanted me to get an excellent education and live the American dream promised by generations: living a life better than my parents. Now, as a social worker and Board of Education member, I try to fulfill that promise.

Unfortunately, too many people today want to see money drained away from our public schools, hurting the chances of each student left in them. At exactly the moment when Tennessee has made progress -- when Race to the Top has raised standards, test scores, and opportunity for our kids -- those supporting vouchers would pull money away from public classrooms and send them to private schools, leaving fewer resources for the same number of public school buildings, teachers, classrooms, and ball fields.

This makes no sense. Hamilton County Schools are making progress.

This policy could not come at a worst time for Hamilton County's District 5 schools, which are making a slow but steady comeback. In the past three years, the district's seven schools have experienced an average 15 percent increase in math scores and a 5 percent increase in reading scores. These gains, though small, have been hard fought and hard won. They have come despite the political turbulence in our state's instructional standards and testing practices. And they were won in a district characterized by concentrated poverty and historical neglect. More than 85 percent of our students qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch. I am proud of the gains, but I also know they are not enough.

Part of the reason for this improvement is accountability. At no point in history have we demanded more from our schools and teachers and then measured them by their performance in meeting these metrics. If we are using tax dollars on this critical need for our children and grandchildren, it is important we know our money is going to good use.

That's not what we get with vouchers. In a voucher system, a parent can send his or her child to any school, regardless of whether that institution provides a quality education. There are no consequences if our tax dollars are ill spent. I believe in accountability for tax dollars, in making sure we are effective and making decisions accordingly. We cannot -- and should not -- hold a private school to the same standards as a public one. They are private to be free of government regulation, a decision I completely understand.

If the experience in other states is any indication, many private schools will not accept a voucher. Their tuition costs more than a voucher will provide. Also, since every private school can make its own admission decision, some simply will not let students in. So that leaves other schools -- ones that may be more in need of the income and students -- with the bulk of the vouchers.

Perhaps that's why vouchers have not proven to raise student achievement elsewhere. In Milwaukee, which has one of the most extensive voucher programs in the country, students who accepted the vouchers underperform compared to their public school counterparts. A study tracked thousands of students over time and found no meaningful academic benefit for students, a result replicated in other places around the country.

In addition, a voucher program hurts those who stay in public schools. Those public schools -- where teachers already buy their own supplies and spend countless dollars out of their own pockets -- now will operate with the same number of instructors, the same number of buildings to air condition, and the same number of cafeteria workers, all with a lower budget.

If I thought vouchers would work, I would be the first person at the door of my local legislator to lobby for them. After all, the district I represent contains some of the schools that struggle most to raise achievement levels. What they need is clear but also incredibly difficult: continuity of engaged and talented instructors; increased parental involvement; an engaged community; and equitable resources in the classroom.

Vouchers cure none of that. They obscure the problem by acting as if a different school can solve the complex, long-term issues, including poverty, that have led to our current achievement gap.

It won't. I have no problem with a parent who wants to send a child to a private school. For that family, for that child, it may make all the sense in the world. Just don't use my tax dollars to do it.

If we really want to improve outcomes for our kids, we will ignore the empty promise of easy fixes. Instead, we will get involved in our local public school, read to our own kids or grandkids, volunteer at the after-school program at our church, or donate supplies our teachers need. We know what works. Let's not deprive public schools of needed resources at a time they are working every day to provide it.

Karitsa Mosley, a graduate of Chattanooga School of Arts and Science, is the District 5 representative on the Hamilton County Board of Education.