Wednesday's letters: Vouchers not enough money to send low-income kids to private school
Vouchers won’t cover private school tuition
HB1 allots vouchers of $8,500 a year for students whose parents choose to send them to private schools instead of public.
A quick search – neither exhaustive nor particularly scientific – of private high schools and middle schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties uncovered only one where the voucher would be enough to cover the tuition.
(And it’s worth noting that many of these schools charge fees that can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.)
Manatee County
IMG Academy: $68,500
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal: $25,300
Bradenton Christian: $11,750
The Broach School (Basic): $9,500
West Coast Christian: $6,800
Sarasota County
Out-of-Door Academy: $24,650
Hershorin Schiff Community Day: $16,000
Sarasota Christian: $14,785
Cardinal Mooney: $14,000
Incarnation Catholic: $10,135
The HB1 vouchers are being sold as allowing lower-income families to send their children to private schools that are superior to the public schools. But many families will still be unable to afford the tuition.
More: How to send a letter to the editor
The vouchers are really just a way to use our tax dollars to provide discounts for folks who can already afford to send their kids to private schools. That sounds more like elitism than populism.
George McDermott, Sarasota
Keep Christian nationalism out of schools
Sarasota County School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler concluded the board's April 18 meeting by remarking, “The level of anti-Christian comments is alarming.”
These words – along with Ziegler's effort to bring Vermilion Education in as a consultant to our A-rated school district – clearly demonstrate that she doesn’t understand the concerns of taxpayers.
More: School Board votes down contract with Vermilion
Vermilion’s connection to conservative, Christian Hillsdale College screams of inappropriateness for Sarasota’s public schools. Florida’s teachers reported that Hillsdale’s civics training last summer described our Founding Fathers as opposing strict separation of church and state, and that America is defined by Christianity.
We’ve witnessed attempts to indoctrinate students to Christian nationalist views: eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs, banning books honoring diversity, whitewashing American history and demonizing LGBTQ students.
We should also remember our governor’s comment that AP African American history “lacks educational value.”
Sarasota residents will continue to resist attempts to smuggle Christian nationalism indoctrination into our schools under the guise of curriculum alignment.
Jill Lewis-Spector, Sarasota
Board members right to reject Vermilion
I would like to add my thanks to School Board members Tim Enos, Robyn Marinelli and Tom Edwards for listening to the community and voting against the proposed Vermilion contract with the district.
Hopefully, this will provide time to better evaluate the situation and determine if a consultant is needed and in what areas. When and if the time comes to reconsider hiring a firm, I hope that Vermilion will no longer be considered.
Opinion: How to make New College a true world-class school
More: School Board votes "no" on firm tied to conservative Hillsdale College
Regardless of personal beliefs, perceptions count.
With the turmoil New College of Florida is experiencing – along with School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler’s openness about supporting the governor’s agenda and the way in which she handled the initial proposal – it is unlikely that hiring Vermillion would ever be perceived as anything other than political.
Sarasota families and students deserve better.
Dodie Neuhauser, Sarasota
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: HB1 vouchers come up short for private school
