Americans' support for a federal investment in public school repair, renovation, and modernization transcends partisanship and geographical boundaries. National PTA's own poll, conducted in December 1998, found that 79 percent of those polled favored the federal government's involvement in helping to build new schools, and 82 percent favored the federal government providing money for the repair and modernization of schools to improve education. The perception that public schools are failing is a myth. More students with disabilities are being educated in regular classrooms. More students than ever are graduating from high school, going on to higher education, and completing 4-year college degrees.
Public schools are accountable to the public.
They must comply with open admission requirements, serve special needs students, hire certified teachers, adopt state curriculum standards, and measure student achievement. School board meetings are open to the public, as are the financial records, attendance rates, and test score reports. None of this is true of private schools. There is no strong evidence that vouchers improve student achievement. The cost of using public funds to pay for K-12 private and religious school tuition is high.