Abramo Ottolenghi of Worthington, OH asks:

The supporters of vouchers would like to have public money without public political control. Presently with the public schools all, including parents who send their children to private schools and individuals without children in school have an input through the electoral system on how money is spent. Under the voucher program as proposed by many, only parents would have a say. With my money, no thanks. Please comment.

Chester Finn responds:

You're wrong twice. Voters would have plenty of say under any publicly funded voucher system about the "rules" by which the system operates. It would have to be enacted and funded by legislatures, governors, etc. Moreover, you grossly exaggerate the degree to which the public influences how public school dollars are spent today. Many school boards today are controlled by special interests. With extremely low voter turnout in school board elections, and virtually no input from parents and community members, school boards, unions, and other "producer" groups can well do whatever they like. Many local school boards, especially in large urban areas, make decisions that go directly against the "public interest."

Vouchers for poor kids empower parents to challenge the system that has ill- served them for so long. The point of giving scholarships or vouchers to poor kids is both to get those kids a better education and to force school systems to start acting in the best interests of their clients. Large public sector bureaucracies (a category that includes many public school systems) don't improve because they want to, they improve because they have to.

Eventually, a system based on the charter school model could be implemented whereby parents could choose any school in their state--and the schools would be essentially self-governing--but those schools would be held accountable by public authorities for the results they produce. The public would have a say in the standards by which the schools are judged, but not in the details of how individual schools are run. This mixes the best in democratic accountability with the crucial autonomy that makes many private schools so successful.

Jane Hannaway responds:

It is hard to imagine a voucher system with public funding emerging without considerable regulation attached to it. Think about the questions that would have to be addressed: Who is eligible to receive a voucher? How much support would individuals receive? Would the amount vary with the financial need of different families? With the education needs of individual students? What schools would be eligible to receive vouchers? Religious schools? Value-based schools? Could schools teach any curriculum or would there be requirements? Would schools have to certified and accredited? Maintain certain standards? Are schools allowed to charge fees above the voucher? Can schools be selective? All these questions, and no doubt more, would have to be addressed by public authorities and thereby provide openings for public input. In fact, one of the arguments against vouchers is that the regulatory costs would be so high that any benefits associated with innovation and efficiency might be lost. Many voucher proponents would like to see the type of voucher system that you fear, but I think it is unlikely to emerge with public monies involved.