Douglas County Vouchers – Student Choice or Protecting Public Taxpayer Funded Education?
By Blog Editor Susan Wells
There is a fight going on in Douglas County, Colorado. Not over school lunches, school hours or even the amount of homework assigned.
The fight is over a parent’s right to choose vs how taxpayer money is spent.
Let’s not forget, this issue is also about kids and their families getting caught in politics.
Last year, the Douglas County Schools approved a school voucher program, the first of its kind in Colorado. The voucher program gave parents the ability to choose the right school for their child. If Dougco wasn’t able to provide for and meet the needs of a student, parents were able to take some of the money allocated for their child’s public education and spend it at the school of their choice, including private or religious schools.
The district spends about $6,000 for each student per year, and the district offered “scholarships” of $4,575 to use at a private school. Families would receive four checks during the school year either covering the cost of tuition at their chosen private school or 75% of what the district would have spent if the child attended class in
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