The stories keep coming, and keep confirming it: the universal private vouchers exploding in red states across the country are an unmitigated disaster.
The old narrative that this is about public school students in poverty and struggling schools being lifted into better schools has been proven a lie.
No—today’s universal voucher (no incomes restrictions) is a coupon largely for the well-off, already attending private schools. And with its explosion across America, the strategy is dealing a devastating blow to public education, on a trajectory to become far worse fast.
Tons of in-state papers have caught onto the crisis. And the data is always the same—and appalling. This week, the Washington Post reported on it as well.
But even as these outcomes become clear in state after state, the right-wing voucher advocates keep going. As I explain in the VIDEO above, they are going for broke!
Why?
Because dismantling public education is the goal.
And while most are watching Washington, polls and presidential campaigns, these advocates are making as aggressive a move against public education as we’ve seen in our history. Doing untold damage this year.
Why the rush?
Because if they can establish an entirely new system of funding private education rapidly, they will have won before anyone can stop it, or get rid of it. And once locked in, the new system will unravel public education entirely. If you read what the true believers have written over the years, that’s exactly their goal. That old narrative about struggling kids in public schools was nothing but lipstick on a pig.
They’re going for broke because they want to have it at all settle in as the new system—so that it’s too late to stop it.
Dark Money Going for Broke
And one reason it’s happening so fast is because big money—dark money—is all in to make it happen.
Just look at what happened in Texas in recent months.
Millions were spent by Betsy DeVos and others to attack Republicans who had opposed Gov. Abbott’s voucher plan. You see, some rural Republicans, knowing it would undermine schools in their rural districts, voted against the Texas plan. (That’s why Texas is still colored white on the map above).
So dark money targeted those Republicans because they want Texas to join the other states that are all in!
And most of those Republicans lost in those primaries, flooded by this dark money.
What they’re doing, feverishly, is creating an incentive system where anyone, of any party, who stands up to what they’re doing (which is unpopular, by the way) loses. And they want that fear to force any doubters to get on board, or lose their seats.
Texas is the future they want: stand up to them, and your career ends.
What Do We Do? Fight Back
Which has left me with one clear-eyed conclusion: if we don’t fight back with a similar political tactic, THEY are going to win.
So the majority of us who support public education need to step it up big time.
Politically! Fiercely!
So today I’m kicking off an effort called “PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.”
The goal is that simple—lift candidates who vote to oppose these universal voucher disasters (who keep public funds for public schools), and hold accountable those who vote for universal vouchers.
The effect of these vouchers is so twisted, so expensive, and so damaging to public education, the message against those who vote for universal vouchers is the easy part. That’s why no referendum on universal vouchers has ever passed. (And it’s why they use gerrymandered statehouses to do all this).
It’s raising the funds to carry that message at scale that’s the hard part.
But that’s what we need to do. Now! There’s no other choice at this point.
So let’s get going!
Will you HELP us get started?
Chip in to our “Public Funds for Public Schools” effort so we can design and run ads holding those who are enacting these voucher programs accountable? (And I hope you’ll consider giving monthly).
You’ll see at the link that we have set an initial goal of reaching $20,000. The good news is we already have a $10,000 match commitment for the first $10,000 we raise.
But that needs to be the start. This must grow far bigger than that. Fast—in time for this year’s elections. But we have to start somewhere.
And every penny will go to the effort to hold accountable those pushing all this destruction.
Once we raise sufficient funds, we will aggressively target voucher supporters in strategic state legislative races around the country. We will ensure that voters in these districts understand by Election Day what these politicians are doing to undermine public schools in their own communities.
We will be bring that needed transparency and accountability, with the hopes of impacting the outcomes of races themselves.
And the broader goal, over time, will be that the politician who votes to destroy public education through universal vouchers faces a new reality: that their electorate back home will know full well what they’re doing.
What will their voters learn?
Simple:
That their own state rep. is undermining the school they went to. The school they pay property taxes for. The school their kids go to. The football and basketball teams they travel near and far to cheer for. The arts that are at the center of their community. The good jobs that have kept so many in their community employed through thick and thin. The teachers and counselors and coaches and principals who’ve changed so many lives—who provided opportunity to so many—over decades in their community.
Their constituents will learn, loud and clear, that their own representatives are attacking all of that. Undermining the center of their community.
And they will vote them out because of it!
(And just as the right-wing dark money is trying to do, maybe that will change those state representatives’ own decision-making along the way).
Let’s Start Today
There’s a lot of good work being done to fight back by so many, but until this type of direct accountability happens—political accountability—I’m afraid the work being done is not enough.
Actually, I know it.
So, I hope you’ll help us get it started.
Help us get this started by giving HERE.
This is a test. Do we care enough about public education to do something about this, or don’t we?
Let’s match that first $10K quickly. Then build from there. Then fight back, and hold people accountable.
I will keep you posted as we build.
“Public funds for public schools.”
It’s so simple. Let’s make sure voters across America know we can make it happen.
Thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENT: On Vouchers, Enough is Enough