Guest post: New book ‘Education Wars’ adds to anti-voucher argument

A new book, “The Education Wars,” show how private school vouchers further this country’s divisions.

This is a wonderful time of year in Iowa. We’re gearing up for harvest here on the farm. The hottest days of summer are behind us. And our public schools are once again bustling with activity, opening their doors to all kids regardless of who they are or how much money they have in their pockets.

That’s been on my mind a lot lately—the fact that our public schools serve every child, without exception. That’s the way it should be. But given the last three years of attacks on public education by Gov. Kim Reynolds and her statehouse allies, this fundamental principle could be on the chopping block.

The most devastating tool used by Reynolds and company has been private school vouchers. Simply put, vouchers defund public education. They shift taxpayer money away from public schools and give it to private schools.

To counter this, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement members are rolling out our Public School Strong campaign. We’re fighting for fully-funded, honest and equitable public education open to everyone.

And as we do this, we’re drawing inspiration and knowledge from many sources, including from a new book: “The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual,” by Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider.

It’s a wonderful resource—eye-opening and memorable in many ways. Here are just a few of its “nuggets of knowledge” that resonate with me:

All of us—including future generations—benefit from strong public schools because they’ve helped make our country far more equal, educated, and democratic. As the authors write: “We have a strong economy, a better society, and a healthier democracy as a result of our free and universal approach to K-12 education.”

We have deep division in this country, and private vouchers keep us fractured. They set up a tiered education system and they reverse gains we’ve made to give all children equal opportunity no matter where they come from, what they look like, or how much money they have.

Independent studies in Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, and Washington DC show that student performance and achievement go down as private voucher programs expand.

Public schools are accountable to local communities through nonpartisan, democratically-elected school boards. Private schools are not accountable to the community, even when they take public money—at times, it’s hard to know who they answer to.

Public schools are universally accessible and do not discriminate—we give all students an equal opportunity to thrive. Private schools can pick and choose certain types of kids and discriminate.

Private voucher programs are also “budget busters.” The authors state, “Arizona’s program is on track to cost taxpayers an estimated $1 billion per year—a whopping 1,400% higher than what voucher proponents initially predicted.”

We’re so impressed by the book that we’ve invited one of its authors, Jennifer Berkshire, to join us here in Iowa for a series of community meetings that will focus on fully-funded public schools.

We’ll be holding these events October 5-8 in Des Moines, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and other towns across the state. You can learn more about them at www.cciaction.org/events. We hope you can join us for these critically important gatherings. And please get the book—it’s a must read!

Barb Kalbach is a fourth-generation family farmer, registered nurse, and board president of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. She can be reached at [email protected].