Vermonters Should Choose School Choice

For nearly 140 years Vermont has supported school choice. Since many of its small towns do not have schools or have schools that do not span the entire K-12 spectrum, Vermont law allows families in those towns to choose a public or independent school that best fits the educational needs of their children. The benefits of school choice are many.

1. Schools are not one-size fits all. Children respond differently in a variety of educational settings, and parents ought to have the ability to choose the setting that best suits their child.
2. School choice creates competition in the marketplace. Competition drives quality. School choice ensures that we do what we say we do. If not, families and their tuition dollars will go elsewhere.
3. School choice promotes "higher levels of academic achievement in areas where competition for students was greatest; benefits from a competitive environment that were not limited to specific demographic groups; and significant cost savings to Vermont taxpayers."
   
   Christopher Hammonds, “The Effects of Town Tuitioning in Maine and Vermont,” Friedman Foundation, 2002.

Currently, the Vermont legislature is grappling with a serious budget shortfall of $150 million for the next fiscal year. School consolidation is seen as a way of providing some of this savings. Please join me in ensuring that school choice is part of the solution. For information, visit http://www.schoolchoicevermont.com.