School choice can ease overcrowding

Jacqueline Sit of NEWS 9 reports that parents in Moore had to camp out for two nights in an attempt to ensure their children got a spot in kindergarten. "Enrollment for the all-day kindergarten starts Monday morning," she reports, "and parents are willing to do whatever it takes to score one of the 20 openings at Broadmoore Elementary School."

"I'd like the full day, but there's half day alternative. And we'd still have to pay out of pocket for daycare outside of the half day kindergarten. Ideally, I'm trying to get the full day. That's why I'm here on a Saturday night," parent Matthew Wells said.

Here's one solution. The Alliance for School Choice has pointed out that "the physical constraints of many public schools and the fiscal constraints of many state and local governments have forced advocates for increased public investment in early education to compromise with their legislative opponents in nearly every state by supporting the use of public funds for these young children to attend private schools." Indeed, "in the last two years, many of the states embracing greater public support for early education have chosen to allow for parental choice through vouchers or tax credits."

The time has come for that sort of compromise here in Oklahoma. Oklahoma parents who send their kindergartners to a private school should receive a tax credit for tuition expenses. Moreover, Oklahoma should enact a tax credit for donations to school tuition organizations which enable low-income children to attend kindergarten at private schools.