Diverting public money for private schools takes money away from our communities resulting in higher taxes for homeowners and businesses in the community.

Investing in our neighborhood public schools is investing in our community.

IDRA believes that the best way to improve public schools is to invest in public education. Proponents of vouchers, tuition tax credits, non-public charter schools and other methods propose to improve education by diverting public resources to support private ventures. Private schools by design are selective and exclusive, not accountable to elected bodies, and allowed to operate without regard to rules and regulations applicable to public schools, including requirements related to special education and civil rights.

Contrary to the belief of a few, funneling public money to private schools will not fuel improvement of public education, but instead drain already limited resources and dilute broad community support for what has long been considered a valid civic function.

IDRA continues to advocate the following.

• The country and individual states should limit the appropriation of public funding to private schools.
• The country and individual states should reject the concept of public funding for private schooling, even if the proposal is to implement pilot programs.