June 27, 2008

Tell Congress: End the DC voucher experiment

The District of Columbia's ineffective voucher program, scheduled to expire September 30, will continue unless the FY09 Financial Services Appropriations bill is amended. The Bush Administration is pushing to reauthorize program and increase funding from $14 million to $18 million per year despite strong evidence it is not helping DC students:

For two straight years, federal evaluations have found no overall difference in academic achievement between students in the voucher program and public school students.
A Government Accountability Office report documented myriad problems associated with lack of accountability, including spending taxpayer's money to support private schools that do not charge tuition.
Private schools are exempt from public accountability standards, including No Child Left Behind requirements.

Contact your representatives in Congress TODAY!
Tell Congress to end the DC voucher experiment - not extend it as the President has proposed.

Tell Your Senators: H.R. 3221 Puts Public Education in Jeopardy

Legislation now before the Senate will jeopardize funding for schools, police, and other vital public services. Part of the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221), it would deny tax deductions to residents of localities that raise tax property rates to compensate for revenue shortfalls caused by plummeting home values. This unwarranted federal intrusion into local and state government would:

Force many localities to cut schools, police, and other vital public services.
Set a deeply troubling precedent: discriminating among localities based on how they enact property tax changes.
Result in uneven and unfair burdens on taxpayers - the provision is so complex the Internal Revenue Service would find it impossible to administer.

Contact your Senators TODAY!
Tell them that enacting H.R. 3221 in its current form jeopardizes funding for schools and other essential public services.

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