Charter schools vs. Vouchers

One of the reasons I prefer vouchers to charter schools some of the time is this. Catholic schools across the country are, in the face of financial desperation, converting to charter schools. Now, I love school choice, but it's important to note what is changing here. Choice that used to exist in a private manifestation is now becoming publicly funded. It's a subtle difference, but an important one in my mind. The problem with charter schools is that in the long run, they could very easily begin to take over the private market for education, eventually setting up a situation where every kid is enrolled in a public school (charter or traditional) of some sort. Aside from the political capture questions, there are some huge financial implications if something like this were to happen. More than likely, I believe it would result in a greater stratification of the public/private distinction in which anyone who is not truly "wealthy" would be unable to attend private schools.



In economics, what I'm referring to is called "crowding out." When government begins providing/funding a service, it will, no matter how well that service is provided, crowd out private entrepreneurs from attempting to enter the fray and innovate. The best example I can think of is Social Security. When first enacted, there were small private firms attempting to provide the same kinds of accounts to individuals. Regardless of whether you like Social Security, the net effect was these private accounts no longer really made any sense to invest in unless you were wealthy and had a great deal of money you wanted to invest for the long term.



A great quote in the article is from a parent who used to have a child enrolled in a the catholic school, but took them out when it converted to charter status.



'“If we wanted our kids to go to public school, we would have sent them there,” said S. Kathryn Allen, a parent leader who protested the Catholic school closings last year. Ms. Allen has a son in a Catholic school in Washington but did not have a child at Holy Name.



“When you change to a charter school, you are not allowed to do the things that make a Catholic school Catholic and that preserve our mission,” she said.'



Embedded in the statement is the understanding of how a charter school, while offering choice, isn't the same kind of choice that this parent wants and is used to. What's fascinating to me about all of this is how it reveals how "choice" can look completely different depending on where you're coming from. I wonder how a low income family in the city would look upon the changeover?