In President Bush’s State of the Union, addressed late last month, he proposed a new program called Pell Grants for Kids. Essentially, $300 million in tax dollars would be allotted to low-income parents to help send their children to private or religious schools.
A similar federally financed “scholarship” is already in existence in Washington. Initiated in 2003, it has provided more than $14 million a year for low-income students to attend private and religious schools.
Of the proposed program, Senator Edward M. Kennedy said:
“The president didn’t commit the resources to expand education opportunity … Instead, on top of a $70 billion shortfall in funding for his own education reforms, he again proposed to siphon scarce resources from our public schools to create new voucher programs.”
While I see the program as an honorable attempt at giving low-income children better education opportunities, it validates the inefficiency and downright failure of public schools. With that, why not use the $300 millio to distribute to public schools across the nation? – thereby benefitting more than just a few.
Even though it may advance a select fortunate few, the program would inevitably leave too many behind, proving also the failure of another Bush initiative.
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