(Host) Windham Senator Peter Shumlin, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, says he strongly opposes efforts to use state tax dollars to provide vouchers for students to attend private schools.
Speaking Tuesday night on VPR’s Switchboard program, Shumlin said allowing parents to use their local school block grant to help pay for tuition at a private school will undermine the state’s public school system:
(Shumlin) “I wouldn’t support funding for any school system that doesn’t take all comers, that isn’t open to all children. And maybe I say that as a kid who learned differently than most kids on the block, but I can tell you that my big fear about vouchers and the whole rave and excitement about vouchers in this country is that we haven’t really thought it out. You’re going to do two things with vouchers, in my view: One is to leave the less economically advantaged kids behind. The other is to leave the least desirable kids to educate, the most challenging, those who learn differently, behind. And I think both would destroy public education in this country.”
(Host) Shumlin says he does support a public school choice plan adopted by the Legislature that creates opportunities for choice based on regional school districts.