Ed choice can help ease growing pains

Deer Creek has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best public school districts in Oklahoma. For example, the average student in Deer Creek is performing better in math than 72 percent of students in Oklahoma, according to researchers at the George W. Bush Institute. Moreover, the average student in Deer Creek is performing better in math than 67 percent of students in the United States and better than 56 percent of students in other developed economies.

Unsurprisingly, many parents want to live in the district. The Oklahoman noted last week that Deer Creek's enrollment is increasing. With that in mind, policymakers should always be aware that private-school choice policies (vouchers, tax credits, ESAs, etc.) can serve as a "pressure release valve" in high-growth areas like Deer Creek.

Overcrowded schools?

School choice can help.

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.

School choice saves money

Tom Waken of Oklahoma City has an excellent letter to the editor in today's Oklahoman:

Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Educational Association, has said Catholic schools save taxpayers more than $19.6 billion every year. Ristau based the figures on an average public school cost per student of $8,701 per year, multiplied by the total Catholic school enrollment of 2.2 million students who would have been going to public schools if there were no Catholic schools.

Catholic schools are a gift to the nation; the enormity of the gift is more striking during these challenging economic times. In addition to the monetary rewards, the nation gains in other ways: Catholic school students excel academically on standardized tests, 99.1 percent graduate and 94 percent attend colleges or universities.

This is a good argument for school vouchers that would give parents a choice in educating their children. This would also relieve the overcrowding of our public schools and make them more productive in educating students.