That might work to an extent. I would caution that school districts that are performing admirably are usually pretty full. I worked in a school district that was conservative and known for having high expectations and parent involvement. We had a number of students from out of district, our numbers were already at max, and when I retired a few years ago our classes were overly full. Maxxed out classrooms do not make for a good learning environment.
Out of district students, at the moment, are not paying vouchers. Expanding means building more schools and yes hiring more staff, but there is no expansion in the tax base to easily cover those costs. Schools are at max right now, at the moment, because of the influx of immigrants, who also don’t pay taxes. Also, it takes time to pass bonds to build and then it takes added time to build, if bonds to build are passed by the voters. It’s not as easy as you think. Teachers wind up having to share their classroom with other teachers, secondary classrooms are crowded and support staff is spread very thin.
Parents need vouchers so they can take their kids to whichever school they want, public or private.
That would quickly force public schools to perform or lose students in droves.
That might work to an extent. I would caution that school districts that are performing admirably are usually pretty full. I worked in a school district that was conservative and known for having high expectations and parent involvement. We had a number of students from out of district, our numbers were already at max, and when I retired a few years ago our classes were overly full. Maxxed out classrooms do not make for a good learning environment.
A school that is maxed out but receiving a constant inflow of money, will be able to expand and hire more staff.
They wouldn't be constrained by fixed or shrinking budgets.
Out of district students, at the moment, are not paying vouchers. Expanding means building more schools and yes hiring more staff, but there is no expansion in the tax base to easily cover those costs. Schools are at max right now, at the moment, because of the influx of immigrants, who also don’t pay taxes. Also, it takes time to pass bonds to build and then it takes added time to build, if bonds to build are passed by the voters. It’s not as easy as you think. Teachers wind up having to share their classroom with other teachers, secondary classrooms are crowded and support staff is spread very thin.
I was talking about if parents had vouchers to spend at good schools, those schools would have the money to expand.
It all starts with vouchers.
My dad taught elementary for over 30 years, and I worked at a school for 10 years so I know about how schools operate.