Vouchers, Lies, and Public Schools.

In the war to dismantle the public schools for their business and religious constituents, the weapons of choice among most conservatives are sensationalism and subterfuge. Rather than accurately report the failures of voucher plans--now euphemistically redubbed portability credits by the Bush team--the "school choice" coalition weaves together a pattern of half-truths and lies that lead one to believe that the revolution to reform mediocre schools is succeeding unabated. When questioned as to the specifics of how these miracles are being accomplished, they conveniently revert to code words about the power of choice and the need for reform. Nothing is ever proven, and the real questions about dilapidated buildings, malnourished children, or insufficient funding are swept aside in a wave of positive but rather vacuous emotion.

Even a cursory examination of voucher programs in action, however, leaves one to wonder if there is any substance to this panacealike blitz. While loyal columnists obediently repeat the mantra of their favorite conservative think tank, more inquiring minds want to know where the improvement lies.

For when we move beyond the cliches about "quality," "basics," and "accountability," we find a movement that has misrepresented its successes and ignored its failures. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the first charter school movement began, there is compelling evidence that the change from public schools has been an unmitigated failure. Statistics done by the University of Wisconsin tell of problems ranging from mismanagement to parental discontent. Children in these schools of choice do no better than their public school counterparts, and the number of students leaving for public schools is said to be growing.

So where's the promised change?

Of course, voucher advocates from a collection of conservative think tanks don't have time to talk about the specifics of Milwaukee's dubious performance. With platitudes in hand, they're quick with the glib remark about the "wonders of the private sector" and the need to "empower parents." Ironically, parents in Milwaukee were recently forced to picket the Woodson Academy--a voucher school--because it was said to be in disarray, with kids unsupervised and uncertified staff teaching in classrooms.

So where's the revolutionary success?

Don't try looking at Educational Alternatives Incorporated, a private company that took over the Baltimore, Maryland, public schools with the claim they could cut costs, be more efficient, and raise test scores. After only a few years, EAI was asked to leave Baltimore so the city could return its students to the public schools. This, after test scores went down, class sizes rose, and EAI was accused of lying about its enrollment and test score averages.

In speaking of the voucher initiative, educator and author Jonathan Kozol has suggested that the idea of privatizing public schools is "nonsense" and "flawed." In a recent interview in Selling Out Our Schools, the author of Savage Inequalities referred to the inequalities inherent in the private sector--inequalities that would never be permitted in a public school. "It is clear," argues Kozol, "that the right wing voucher advocates are subverting a strong American tradition."

And as we survey the educational climate, we see how much sense Kozol makes. In a country that has the highest rate of poverty of all industrialized nations--and in a country where funding for kindergarten-through-grade-twelve schools lags behind most industrialized nations--we need a policy that does more than spew platitudes about the free market and a need for prayer in schools.

So where's the voucher miracle?

Let's all demand more than snappy slogans from conservative big business before we allow them to destroy our public schools. Let's ask them why they are willing to bankroll new schools while refusing to help the underfunded ones that already exist.

Gregory Shafer holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan and teaches at Mott College in Flint.