Politics of Public Education

In my experience as a student in Wisconsin's finest public school system (Madison Metropolitan School District represent!!!!), I received a great, challenging eduction that fostered a enjoyable learning environment. And in my humble opinion, public schooling was the best route for me because of the opportunities to meet a variety of people, and the opportunities to take a variety of different classes. However,  the politics of public education in the United States varies: some states place high value on publicly funded schools through citizens' tax dollars (typically a liberal stance), while other states place high value on more school choice through voucher programs (typically a conservative stance). For those that don't know, school voucher programs allow students to use tax-payer dollars to attend charter/private schools, utilize home-schooling, obtain special tutoring, and other services. Parents generally choose to take advantage of voucher programs due to a multitude of reasons: maybe their child has a learning disability and wants more special attention to adequately meet their needs; maybe their child is failing and needs more localized attention; maybe the parents just want their child to attend a private school because they don't like the publicly zoned school, but can't afford the private-school tuition. 

The voucher program relates to Arizona because a Washington DC-based group called American Federation for Children is funding local Arizona candidates who supported a bill purposed in March expanding the school voucher program. Usually voucher programs are limited to certain people--like students with special learning needs--however with this new bill, Arizona's voucher program would expand so over 1 million students could take advantage of using taxpayer dollars to attend whatever school they wanted, public or private. Whether or not the voucher program is a good or bad idea, I don't know. I know in Milwaukee it messed up their public school system because of all of the unqualified charter schools that opened, and the poor educational attainment it created. However, Milwaukee is its own case, and even though public schooling was the best option for me, taking advantage of the voucher program to attend a private school may be the best option for another person. 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/09/25/group-aids-arizona-allies-fight-expand-public-money-private-schools/90718618/