To committed parents and grandparents like Jeffries, the most important issue concerning voucher programs is improved education and student performance. Unfortunately, Jeffries doesn t believe Essence is any better off than her older granddaughter who is in public school. While Cleveland has yet to compare public school performance to that of voucher schools, independent researchers in Milwaukee have turned up no learning improvement for voucher students over public school students after six years of experience with vouchers. One explanation might be that private schools in both Cleveland and Milwaukee do not have to meet the same criteria as public schools. They don t have to have the same academic standards or evidence of achievement in their programs.
Private schools are also free to exclude special needs children.
In fact, four of Cleveland s participating private schools were brand new, with no track record at all. As independently run schools, there is no accountability for services, either. In Milwaukee, two of the city s private voucher schools shut down in the middle of the school year, leaving students literally standing outside their doors. Lynda Mobley, a bus driver with the Bellevue Public Schools, thinks Jeffries has hit the nail on the head when she says vouchers are an outright attack on public schools and public jobs. People believe that additional funding will cover private school vouchers, that it s not coming from public schools.