Sinking a stake in ‘vampire’ myths about education choice

For centuries, the vampire has haunted folklore across cultures. Because these bloodsuckers “become what we fear most at any given time,” it’s not surprising that opponents of education choice see private school vouchers in a similar, uh, vein – draining money from public schools just as a vampire sucks the lifeblood from his victims:

“Recently passed voucher plan may drain nearly $1 billion from Florida’s public schools over the next five years”

“… the resources that he needs in the public school system just aren’t there because they’ve been drained away by the voucher system…”

“There are many costs associated with private school voucher programs, including … the draining of public money away from public schools.”

“‘Choice’ is a false pretext for draining money from public schools”

“They drain money from public schools…”

But these “vampire vouchers” actually are quite toothless, as explained in this three-minute video …

[penci_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/8avQof7xC_k” align=”center” width=”750″ /]

… which drives these stakes through the heart of the myth:

·       Research shows vouchers actually save taxpayers money that can be reinvested into public education; and,

·       Public school student performance does not suffer from an expansion of choice options.

So put away that garlic necklace. These “vampires” won’t hurt you.