Thinking about an Education Freedom Account/Voucher?

BUYER BEWARE

Here’s what you should know before choosing an Education Freedom Account/voucher over a New Hampshire public school:

• Education Freedom Accounts are new taxpayer-funded vouchers—effectively coupons that allow families to shop for education in a shopping mall of private franchisees. The schools that accept these vouchers have virtually NO accountability requirements for what is taught or how they spend taxpayer dollars. With no rules, you’d be taking a big chance on your child’s education and future.
   
• Voucher schools or any program that accepts these new public dollars have been given the right to reject any student they don’t want to educate, unlike public schools. The law specifically allows schools to say “no thanks” to kids based on their gender, race, sexual orientation, national origin or other federally protected category.
   
• The liaison between the state and the voucher schools gets a 10 percent administrative fee. That’s 10 percent that doesn’t go to students’ education.
   
• Whether you use a voucher or not, your property taxes will go up.

Once millions of dollars of state funding are funneled to voucher schools, already-soaring property taxes will have to be hiked to maintain the quality of public schools.