Private school vouchers bring out contrasts among Columbia school board candidates

A question about funneling public tax dollars to private schools using school vouchers on Thursday drew the biggest contrast among the three candidates for the Columbia Board of Education.

The venue was Zoom, where the teachers union — the Columbia Missouri National Education Association held its candidate forum.

Alvin Cobbins, John Potter and Jeanne Snodgrass are running for two at-large positions on the school board. The terms are three years.

Cobbins joined the forum late due to technical problems.

Vouchers for private schools

Only Snodgrass, the incumbent, said she was outright against a voucher system.

"I am completely opposed to school vouchers," Snodgrass said. "It is designed to pull money from public schools, which are already underfunded."

Private schools include religious schools and they're not required to accept all students, Snodgrass said.

"I do not believe public funds should be used for those schools," she said.

It gives parents an option if they're in a failing school, Potter said.

"I think parents should have a choice where their tax dollars go," he said.

Cobbins said he's undecided about the issue.

"I have to look into that more," Cobbins said. "I don't have enough information right to make a decision on that yet."

Student cellphone use

Potter seized on a question about student cellphone use, saying this is the second campaign he has made it a priority.

It was raised as an issue by the teachers union early in the school year.

"I think there needs to be a district-wide cellphone policy," Potter said. "They are a big distraction for kids."

Keeping students focused on learning is important, Cobbins said.

"Anything that's going to be a distracting students from paying attention to teachers, we need to come up with something," he said.

Cellphones are used by students at different grade levels for different purposes, Snodgrass said.

"What that policy looks like, I don't know," she said.

All of the candidates said teachers should be paid more.

APR scores

The candidates were asked about the state annual performance report scores.

There are points for performance on state tests and points for improvement, Snodgrass said.

There also is a challenge, she said.

"That is something that requires community and parent investment and that is attendance," Snodgrass said. "This is really important."

It is the first time during the campaign any candidate has mentioned the key district priority. The state standard is 90% of students in class 90% of the time, but the district isn't achieving that.

"When students are in school and in class they are getting the instruction they need," Snodgrass said.

The APR question came before the cellphone question but the cellphone policy was Potter's answer to the APR question, too.

Addressing student behavior issues also is needed, Potter said.

"My main focus is maintaining that educational environment," Potter said.

The APR scores rest with the school board, Cobbins said.

"I think it pretty much starts with the school board and how the school board functions," Cobbins said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on X at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia school board candidates discuss private school vouchers