School voucher question

According to the state DOE, Georgia spend $7,261.37 per child for education. School figures can be found here:

School Expenditures

This school year Fayette County will spend $189,201,404.84 to educate 22548 students at $8,391.79 per student according to the DOE.

So $189,201,404 / 22,548 = $8,391 per pupil

Now I went to this site which lists all private schools in Georgia:

Georgia Private Schools

and added up the Fayette County schools and it turns out that we have 2846 students in private school in Fayette County.

An argument against vouchers is that students already going to private school will be eligible for vouchers which will come out of the public school budget. This is a valid point and reflects the flip side of the argument that parents paying for private schools are, to some extent, subsidizing the public system by not having their kids attend them while still paying their part of the education budget.

Now here is what I don’t understand and please somebody out there show me the flaw in my logic.

Let’s assume that vouchers were available for the generally discussed value of $3000 and 5000 students took advantage of them.

5000 * $3000 = $15,000,000

Let’s assume the $15 million came out of the education budget:

$189,201,404 - $15,000,000 = $174,201,404

Let’s assume our presently privately schooled students each get a voucher. That would mean that out of the 5000 vouchers, 2846 went to currently privately schooled kids and 2154 vouchers went to currently publically schooled kids.

5000 – 2846 = 2154

That leaves 20,394 kids in public school with a budget of $174,201,404

22548 – 2154 = 20,394

$174,201,404 / 20,394 = $8541 an increase in per student spending.

Doesn’t this work out so that under a voucher program in Fayette County, the costs savings between the $3000 voucher and the current $8391 is such that if about 2000 kids move to private schools the entire expense of providing vouchers to them and to all current privately schooled students is covered with an increase in per student funds available for the public school?

And after that point is reached, isn’t the school system gaining over $5,000 per every student that receives a voucher and does not attend public school?

Is there something wrong with my math?

I like your math, Jeff

Submitted by maximus on Mon, 03/31/2008 - 12:56pm.

But, as NUK pointed out, a lot of the costs that make up the “per student” $8,391 are fixed. If, however, enough new students took the vouchers it would eventually preclude the building of new schools and keep the fixed costs in line with your cost-per-student.

You also left one formula unfinished “$174,201,404 / 20,394 = $8541 an increase in per student spending.” Allow me -- $174,201,404 / 20,394 = $8,541 - $8,391 = $150 per-student savings * 20,391 students = $3,058,650 returned to the taxpayers.

Maximus

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Jeffc: Vouchers

Submitted by NUK_1 on Sat, 03/29/2008 - 8:00am.

There isn't anything wrong with your math, but it only takes into account the "revenue" side of public school operations. Using just that math and your example, it would behoove public schools to get as many students to take the vouchers and leave as possible. Here's the problem:

School systems operate with mostly fixed costs like debt, building maint and utility costs(especially since opening schools when it's 95 degrees is stupid), most of the personnel/salaries, buses, etc. Your example uses the variable cost of how much tax $$ are used per student, but the costs of the school system are mostly fixed.

The problem the public school proponents have is that every student that leaves is one less student whose spot in the classroom is paying for the fixed costs. So, any decline at all in students means a little less revenue that isn't match by the same reduction in expenditures. Eventually, the costs of the school system will get too close to the incoming tax revenues, so the school board will want a tax increase, bonds, etc.

Of course, the main problem for public schools and vouchers is that the best and brightest who are serious about education are going to likely be the ones who take them and get out of the system, leaving public schools with a lot of Johnny Numbnuts to drag down test scores and students actually learning.

I'm not opposed to the voucher concept and moving away from the idea that education is best done solely by a public school system, but the proposed bill being considered now is flawed in other ways.

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