Public School Coalition Welcomes New Poll Showing The Publics Strong Opposition To Taxpayer-Funded Vouchers

The following press release is from the National Coalition for Public Education. The American Humanist Association is an active member of this coalition working to oppose school vouchers that lead to taxpayer dollars funding religious schools. The PDF version of the press release can be found here.

For Immediate Release
August 21, 2013

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Contact: Simon Brown or Sarah Jones
202.466.3234
communications@au.org
www.au.org

PUBLIC SCHOOL COALITION WELCOMES NEW POLL SHOWING THE PUBLIC’S STRONG OPPOSITION TO TAXPAYER-FUNDED VOUCHERS

National Coalition For Public Education Says Legislators Should Take Heed Of Results In PDK/Gallup Poll

The National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) today lauded the results of a new a poll showing that public opposition to private school vouchers has reached a new high in the United States.

The poll, released today by Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup, shows that 70 percent of respondents say they oppose plans to shift public funding into private and religious schools through voucher plans. This is the highest number in the poll’s 20-year history.

“The American people want a well-funded public school system that benefits all, not a patchwork of unaccountable private schools that cater to a few,” said Maggie Garrett, co-chair of NCPE. “The taxpayer-funded school voucher experiment has been tried and failed. It’s time to put the emphasis back on public education.”

Sasha Pudelski, also co-chair of NCPE, agreed.

“These results tell us that the American public knows something that many politicians do not: Taxpayer-funded vouchers are bad public policy,” Pudelski said. “Vouchers harm our public school system by funneling government dollars into the coffers of private institutions that are not accountable to the public.”

Numerous studies have confirmed that vouchers do nothing to boost student academic performance and have uncovered multiple cases of fraud and abuse.

“Clearly it’s time that members of Congress listen to the American public, which has spoken loud and clear on its opposition to taxpayer-funded vouchers,” said Garrett.

NCPE is a coalition of education, civic, civil rights, religious, secular, and other organizations that work to shore up support for the public school system. The group opposes vouchers and other forms of taxpayer aid to private and religious institutions.