Milwaukee is said to have 6,200 empty private school seats and a similar number have been identified in Kansas City. These are seats that could be filled if parents had the wherewithal to pay tuition. On the demand side, given the resources, public school teachers in big cities are more likely than the public at large to use private schools for their own children. There are two dimensions to extending this opportunity to other children. But in any economic equation there will be both supply and demand.
Vouchers satisfy only half the test, the demand side.
Parents and their children must attend school in an environment in which there is supply as well. As opponents of school choice never tire of pointing out, there are not enough private schools for all the children currently in the public schools. Thus, new schools would relatively soon be needed to meet increased demand. Indeed, the issue of education choice raises the old issue of monopoly with special force and poignancy. School monopolies are no different.