As of June 2022, 59% of Democrats, 75% of Republicans, and 60% of Independents support “School Choice”. This may well be the deciding issue of the 2022 election, but also a great inroad for sharing the Gospel. If we are intellectually consistent as well as a consistent grounding rod for reality, we get more opportunities to share why we believe what we believe.
Some people really get heated when school choice comes up at the Thanksgiving Dinner Table, but what are we really doing when we talk about people having “school choice”? Some would say that you are depriving the poorer communities of their public schools. Others would say that if a voucher is available, then does it matter? Why should public schools get the monopolistic protection that they now receive? Especially considering how poorly these schools operate and squander funds, why should we force the poorest among us to pay for the frivolous spending of public education? Instead why not allow the free market to encourage better programs?
Well this is RACIST! You may say. The attempt by southern democrats to circumvent Brown vs the Board of Education with the Stanley Plan cannot be taken as a serious counterpoint by anyone who knows the history. For those who are unfamiliar, Republicans had been fighting the civil rights issue since Reconstruction and after a landmark case in 1954, Brown vs Board of Education Topeka, school segregation was ruled unconstitutional. So what did Democrats do? Virginia Governor Thomas B Stanely started a policy of “massive resistance”, sound familiar to those who lived through 45's presidency? In that resistance policy, Stanely enacted a plan to mismanage funds to defund public schools and fund defacto white only private schools, leaving blacks high and dry. This was, of course, ruled against in another Supreme Court Case: Griffin vs. County School Board of Prince Edward County. You can't use school choice to enact illegal and racist laws and then call anyone else who wants school choice racist. And the effect hasn't changed to this day. You still have families that are taxed by their local school board and ultimately have nowhere else to send their kids, and they have no opportunity, just like the kids in Prince Edward County.
These lower income neighborhoods have been served well by charter schools with as much as 42% the cost shaved off public schools. With that said, what should the Church be doing about this? The Church used to be involved in the education business. What better way to reach hearts and minds than to be their educators? Will that be easy? NO. I worked, partially, for my tuition at a private/religious school and the amount of love that goes into such a project is immense. However, the Lord doesn't call us to easy tasks. Something for the Church to seriously consider would be providing education at a cost that is flexible for the parents. If you can't afford tuition, perhaps a night or two helping in the janitorial or electrical departments as necessary. This is how many such schools operate and this is something that I would encourage the Church to consider.
And lastly, homeschooling is always a wonderful option if it is available, but it is difficult to do when the government takes so much in taxes that both parents have to work. It's almost like it is intentional. Not to be conspiratorial, but isn't it interesting that both parents have to work to barely afford bills and taxes so that their kids can go to a public school that may or may not be indoctrinating the kids into Statism and Wokism? Just a thought.
Anyway, remember the next time someone calls you a racist that the racist Democrats of Virginia are the folks being recalled here. Remind them of that and take back the concept of School Choice.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/105678791802700101?journalCode=refa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education