Would School Vouchers work for Waco?

By Ashley Bean Thornton

School Vouchers (aka Education Savings Accounts, School Choice, Parent Choice…) are often touted as a way to help low-income students “escape failing public schools.”  We know from existing voucher programs in other states that it is not working out that way.  A recent study by the Brookings Institute, for example, found that, “In Arizona, the state with the first and highest-profile “universal” ESA program, families in the wealthiest, most advantaged communities are obtaining ESA funds at the highest rates. Families in the poorest communities are the least likely to obtain ESA funds. Nothing in the analysis above even remotely suggests that this program is addressing inequities in school access by students’ socioeconomic status.”

But why?  Just because you don’t have much money doesn’t mean you don’t want your kids to get a good education.  Why aren’t more people with limited incomes taking advantage of this opportunity for their kids?

To try to answer that question I took a look at the situation right here in Waco…..

Let’s say you are the parent of 3^rd and 4^th grade girls at Brook Avenue Elementary in Waco ISD. This is one of the schools that has often been labeled as “failing” due to a low percentage of students passing the STAAR test.  (We could have a looooooong discussion about whether that is a legitimate reason to label a school as failing – but that is the topic for another day.)

If your kids are at Brook Avenue, it is very likely that you are considered “economically challenged” by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).   98.5% of the students at Brook Avenue are considered low-income by TEA.  Since there are 364 students at Brook, that means there are only 5 students in the whole school who are NOT considered low income. “Low-income” is defined by TEA as basically 150% of the Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG).  The FPG for a family of 4 in 2024 is $31,200.  So, the upper limit of “low-income” for 2024 would be $31,200 X 1.5 = $46,800. Of course, your family income could be much lower than that.   There are plenty of families in Waco ISD with incomes that are 50% of the FPG or lower.

There’s a good chance your children did not pass the STAAR Test since only 29% of third graders and 37% of fourth graders passed the reading test in 2023.  In math 38% of third graders and 37% of fourth graders passed.

In other words, if your kids go to Brook Avenue, you are exactly the kind of family the voucher-supporters say they are trying to help.

So, let’s say Texas had implemented the Education Savings Account (ESA) program that passed the Texas Senate last legislative session. The amount available to you would have been $8,000 per student.  So, combined, your two daughters would have been eligible for $16,000.  Wow!  That sounds terrific, right?!?

You want to take advantage of this program, so you look up the tuitions at private schools in Waco.  Here’s what you find (based on real schools in Waco):

• Private School A: $11,250
• Private School B: $9,965
• Private School C: $6,250
• Private School D: $10,210

Perfect!  Private School C only charges $6,250 for tuition, so with your $8,000 ESA you would have enough to pay tuition and still have extra to pay for books, uniforms, even transportation!

Excited, you dig deeper into the website. You see that this school operates on the “University Model.”  That sounds fantastic!  What does that mean?

Oh no!  Unfortunately, one thing it means is that grammar school kids only attend classes on campus three days a week.   That means you would have to find childcare for two days a week.

You do some quick math in your head.  180 days in the school year.  That means 72 days that you would need childcare for two kids.  You certainly can’t afford to pay a “real” childcare place for that many days – that’s $10 or $15 an hour!

There’s a lady down the street who keeps kids for $10 a day, $20 for the two of them.  So that would be $1,440 for the year. Plus, your kids have been using the free afterschool program at Brook in the afternoons while you are at work.  The same lady will let them stay with her after school for the other 3 days a week for $5 a day each.  So that’s another $1,080 for the year.  That’s $2,520 out of pocket for the two of them.  Still cheaper than going with Private School B though…

Of course, your kids get free breakfast and lunch at Brook, which they will not be getting at Private School C.  Let’s say that costs you about $10 a day for both children, times 180 school days – so about $1,800 for the school year.

Your out- of-pocket expense for taking advantage of the ESA is up to $4,320.

You would also need to find some kind of transportation.  Drop off in the morning is between 8:15 and 8:30. You are not allowed to drop off before 8:00.  They have to be picked up by 4:00.  That doesn’t work too well with your work schedule.  There’s no bus, so you’ll have to figure out transportation home every day.  No problem – the ESA will be for “fee-for-service” transportation, you can just use Uber! Except…it turns out you have to be 18 to ride in an Uber by yourself.  Not much chance you can get a carpool together, since nobody you know in the neighborhood goes to that school.  It’s 2.5 or 3 miles, too far for the girls to walk. Everybody you know who has a car is working at those times.  Maybe your nephew could give them a ride, especially if you paid him a couple of bucks a day – another $360 for the year…now you are up to $4,680 for the year.  That’s around 10% of your total income.

That’s a lot to pay when they could be going to school for free at Brook.  Maybe they could stay there one more year and you could just help them a little more with their homework.  That’s where their friends are anyway… things are already super tight every month.

…….

The benefit of a Public School system is that it serves ALL kids.  We need to educate ALL kids in order to have the kind of democracy and economy that I think we want. Even if I am willing to give the voucher supporters the benefit of the doubt and believe that they genuinely want what’s best for kids, I can’t see how the voucher program, at least as it is currently conceived, is going to help more than a few kids, and mostly not the kids who really need the help.

I’m not particularly interested in using my tax dollars to help folks who can already afford to send their kids to private schools – those kids are going to be fine.    I think we know how to educate ALL kids. We know it costs money.  It’s time for us to realize that it is worth it.    Texas has the 8^th largest economy in the world.  We should have the best public schools in the country.  Let’s vote for candidates to the Texas Legislature who will prioritize funding and support for public school.  Let’s quit wasting time on vouchers.