Tuition vouchers may be offensive to middle-class, suburban voters and could contribute to the dissolution of neighborhood ties, decreased real estate values, and a shift in student enrollment, concludes a report by the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education.
Vouchers could be considered threatening for suburban communities because they “erase municipal boundaries and provide public funding directly to eligible students to pay for private school tuitions,” the says the report by the center, located at Teachers College, Columbia University. Vouchers usurp power from local communities, which normally control the daily operations of public schools, according to the report. It adds that such loss of control could lead to a suburban backlash.
“Irreconcilable Differences? Education Vouchers and the Suburban Response” is available from the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education.
