Governor Bush is pushing hard for vouchers to give parents an opportunity and incentive to send there children to a better school. He should push and get this through… to better our schools, to better our students and get a better outcome for all. The students that the public schools produces will face competition… perhaps they can benefit by seeing the school competing on quality and outcomes.

The arguments for vouchers are strong, weak against. Vouchers is a fix that is a fix, not a Band-Aid (usually that Band-Aid is more money.) Too often government fixes things with more money and more money helps but if a system needs fixing, something must be done systemically to change it or the money is wasted. Money alone will not "fix" our school system nor more that it will "fix" Social Security.

Voucher will introduce real competition to our public schools. I am absolutely sure that school administrators feel that they are doing the best job they can… and competition won't make a difference. Competition always makes a difference.

I spend a lot of my volunteer time on the Board of Trustees of the Good Shepherd Hospice. After 19 years without competition, we now have competition. Yes, we are doing a good job, our families always thought we did a good job, but when competition was introduced… we got better. Our patients and families get better and more service. Some things we had thought about over the years… got done. We have done more in grief service… and we got our residential center done and is now full. Yes, we would have done it eventually… but competition got us moving. Being the hospice that has served Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties for 19 years was not going to be enough. We had to be the best.

The arguments against vouchers are weak. The argument that we will be giving money to churches is an absolute "red herring". Those students and private schools will be judged on the same standards as the public school. Those private school students will have to measure up against the same standards and public schools. Treat the religious education as a bonus. Our society can use a little more religious education.

Some argue that we will spend tax money for a "fringe" religion. No, the tax money will go to teach the children what they would be taught in public school. That is what the school will have to face. The parent will have the choice on what religion his child will be taught as it should be!

Every one of these private schools know about competition… they have to sell their school every day. The government has given money to church related schools for research over the years. They have given student loans to students to attend church related colleges. They have given grants to religious based universities.

Churches started our country's education…. And they did pretty good. Now we "fear" that a child will get introduced to God. Good heavens!

The argument that it will take money away from the public schools, well maybe. Do schools need more money? Yes. But they have to make the case for more money. They have to sell us on the fact that the additional money will do this and that.

But in reality if the public schools have to compete they may realize that they offer a lot that a small private school cannot… more choices in classes, more activities, more teachers. They may just have to "sell" themselves and they might realize that they have a lot to "sell".

And like we at hospice… some of the things they have been talking about, those items that you might get to "next year" will get done, to the benefit of school, the students and society.

People want to be associated with winners. Vouchers may give the public schools to realize that they can be "winners".

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