Seth Wheeler: With voucher program, what exactly am I paying for?

To The Daily Sun, 

Every parent has the right to send their child to whatever school they want. But it’s not right to make me pay for it. New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account (EFA) voucher program does just that: It takes local property tax money and gives it in $5,000 chunks to pay for someone else’s kids to attend a different school. The result? Private schools get a huge, publicly funded windfall while public schools get less money and fewer students.

Why does this matter now? Because legislators recently removed all limits to the voucher program, adding tens of millions of dollars in new costs with no new revenue sources to pay for it. They also made the program available to anyone, regardless of income. So, someone may have all the money in the world, but I’m still giving them a portion of my local property taxes to send their kid to a different school. What’s wrong with this picture?

Our public schools are the pride of our communities. But MAGA Republicans and Free State Libertarians have effectively declared war on New Hampshire’s public school system. The EFA voucher program is just one avenue of attack. Their other efforts include banning books, cutting staffing and whitewashing what our children are taught about their nation’s history.

Dozens of towns will be considering an article next month at their annual School District Meeting. It calls for the EFA program to provide fiscal and educational performance reports, comparable to those required of public schools. I want to know what my money is paying for. It also calls for limiting EFA eligibility to families with demonstrated financial need. Please join me in calling for a return to sanity in New Hampshire by voting yes on March 4 at the Inter-Lakes School District meeting.

Seth Wheeler

Meredith