THE USUAL PROPAGANDA

"No one disputes the value of a college diploma. Not only do college graduates earn $20,000 a year more than high school graduates, but they're more likely to find jobs in an increasingly demanding global economy

[And the people who are smart and hard-working enough to get degrees would almost always do miles better anyhow]

In fact, the continued success of the U.S. economy depends on ensuring that workers get the best possible education, corporate leaders and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan have warned.

That's why a report Wednesday that shows the country's commitment to higher education slipping is so disturbing. After growing since the 1970s, the percentage of recent high school graduates continuing their education has leveled off in the past decade to about a third, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a think tank.

Why? Because students can't afford the surging tuition costs, or colleges don't have the space. Both obstacles stem from state cutbacks in higher-education budgets to close gaping shortfalls in recent years.

While the savings may help balance the books for now, they will cost states dearly in the long run. An investment in higher education today produces a handsome return in taxes, as employers are drawn to the state to take advantage of a highly skilled workforce.

Yet states are ignoring the payoff....

[Odd that!]

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USE TAX CREDITS RATHER THAN VOUCHERS

"The legal, regulatory, and political bunkers manned by soldiers from the Democratic coalition make school choice a slow and difficult battle. What little ground reformers gain is constantly under threat of being lost. The school choice movement should step around these obstacles by concentrating their efforts on a drive, in each state with an income tax, for Universal Tuition Tax Credits (UTTCs) that allow all parents a true choice in education.

Universal Tuition Tax Credits, rather than vouchers or charters, are the most promising mechanism for providing an escape from failing schools to poor children, expanding the education market, and improving public education. All that is required is a relatively simple and popular revision of state tax law -- combining, expanding, and spreading existing tax credits.

Personal use tuition tax credits allow taxpaying parents to reduce the state taxes they owe by the amount they pay in tuition to a private school -- an individual who owes $10,000 in taxes and spends $4,000 on tuition gets a $4,000 tax credit. They end up paying only $6,000 in state taxes. Tax deductions, on the other hand, only reduce the amount of taxable income, which means there is much less bang for each buck.

Donation tax credits provide the same kind of state tax credit to businesses and taxpayers that contribute to non-profit Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). These SGOs pay tuition for children from low- and middle-income families -- ensuring that children from poor families that don't pay much in state taxes can attend private schools as well.

Universal Tuition Tax Credits combine personal use and donation tuition tax credits. Under this system, any taxpaying parent can get a state tax credit for her child's private school tuition, and any taxpaying individual or business can donate a portion of their state taxes to scholarships for poor children rather than send it to the state.

UTTCs tap a huge reservoir of private funds for school choice, cover a broad constituency, and thereby avoid much of the education establishment's arsenal.


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PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT HATE THE PUBLIC

"It's back-to-school time. Unfortunately, despite school report cards and mandates like No Child Left Behind, many public schools still treat parents like mushrooms: feed them guano and keep them in the dark.

This occurred to me when, like any good parent, I called the principal's office at my local public elementary school to check it out before sending my son. Alas, despite spending $20,000 per child, our school had trouble returning three phone messages left during normal business hours. On my fourth try I reached a live person, and had a brief conversation:

"Hi, I'm Bob Maranto. I'm a parent who lives in [your school's] attendance zone. My son will be old enough for kindergarten next fall. He's actually right on the edge, so he could go next fall or the following fall, and I was wondering if I could come visit the school sometime."

"We don't have any visiting this year," the administrator replied. "We're doing construction and a lot of things are going on."

"Could I watch a class in session?"

"No, even when there's no construction you could not watch a class."

"Well, could I meet my son's teacher?"

"No, the teachers are busy teaching all day and then they go home." .......

But some public schools do better. Last year I led an accreditation visit to an Arizona charter school, Tucson's Academy of Math and Science. I slipped away from the guided tour, roaming the parking lot as school let out to question parents about how school staff treated them. Thirteen of 14 parents said their school welcomed their input. As one put it, "if you complain about something, they let you act on it to fix the problem." Parents designed the dress code and sports program, and helped evaluate teachers. Half the parents had watched classes. As one lady assured me: "it's easy-- you just talk to Mrs. Shannon at the front desk, tell her which class you want to go watch, and she'll tell you which room it's in."

Why can't all public schools work like that?

After seven years of research, I'm convinced that Arizona public schools cater to parents because of school choice combined with heavy reliance on state funding rather than local property taxes. Unlike most states, Arizona has open enrollment across district lines as well as 500 charter schools--many started by teachers--so parents unhappy with one school can easily find another. In addition, state funding means that education dollars follow enrollment, so schools that alienate parents lose money--which in turn alarms school boards and makes principals unemployed.

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