Letter: Iowa should not fund private schools

Rep. Ray Sorensen’s April 15 column noted this about a program the legislature is pursuing: “More sunlight leads to better decisions. That’s good for taxpayers and local governments alike.” I agree. So, let’s talk about school vouchers, known as ESAs in Iowa.

Private schools that utilize vouchers, each one costing $8,148 per student next school year (almost $25,000 for a family with three children), have virtually no accountability to the legislature, the Department of Education or a citizen who asks. Are kids learning well in private schools? We don’t know. Do private schools take everyone who walks through their doors? No. Do privates have open meetings and open records? No. The lead administrator in a private school could be paid $500,000 annually, but that information is not available to the public. All of the above questions would get a yes answer for public schools. Most students who attend private schools have always attended private schools. That means that before the vouchers, those families either paid the tuition or received scholarships. And there are no income limits to access the vouchers. If Elon Musk moved to Iowa and wanted to enroll his 17 children in private schools in Iowa (if they’d take them) he’d receive almost $138,000 for his trouble. Never mind, he’s the richest man in the world.

Public schools are cutting staff and programs, trying to figure out how they will meet the needs of the approximately 90% of Iowa’s children they serve. They haven’t received a cost-of-living increase in the last six years, and in the last 20, only a few times. The governor and our representatives in the house and senate, Ray Sorensen and Amy Sinclair, say they allocate what they can afford. It seems to me that if they can afford $350 million for private schools with no accountability, their affordability crisis is of their own making. Iowa should not fund private schools.