A new poll proves it: Americans, in stunning numbers, want their tax dollars used for schools they select.
That includes private schools, not just the government-run monopolies that have let down so many kids — particularly during the pandemic.
As The Post reported last week, a Center Square survey conducted by Noble Predictive Insights found a full 69% of likely voters back a federal tax credit to let kids attend a school of their choice; just 20% say they should attend the schools they’re assigned.
This wasn’t just Republicans: More than six in 10 Democrats back a federal school-choice program.
Independents, too, overwhelmingly back the market competition that school choice facilitates: Fully 60% favor it.
Alas, Democratic leaders don’t care about voters, even those who vote for them: They routinely oppose voucher and tax-credit programs, parroting the teacher-union lie that using taxpayer funds for private schools leaves public schools short — and that public schools matter most.
Wrong. Taxpayers want their money to buy the best education for their kids, whether from government bureaucrats, private businesses or nonprofits.
“What people ultimately want is for schools to work,” says NPI’s David Byler.
Besides, when traditional schools lose students, their smaller enrollments should lower costs.
And research shows competition actually spurs all schools to improve.
Clearly, the pandemic opened eyes: Before that, parents had no idea just how bad some public schools were — or how the teachers unions catered more to members than students.
Within months of the COVID break-out, recall, it was clear keeping schools closed for an extended period would be harmful: Kids were mentally and physically healthier in schools than at home and likely to get a better education.
Still, Dems bowed to teachers-union demands to keep schools closed, some for nearly two years.
The result: Nationwide scores on standardized tests took a nosedive — plunging more than in 30 years for reading, and more than ever in math.
Meanwhile, parents forced to stay home with their kids doing “remote learning” saw first-hand how abysmal the public-school teaching program was.
And many private schools fared better: Catholic schools, for example, mostly stayed open during COVID — and showed no significant learning losses on either test.
No wonder parents made a mad dash for private schools, which saw enrollments tick up from 4.65 million in 2019-2020 to 4.73 million two years later, per federal data.
Public-school enrollment during that time dropped, from 50.8 million to 49.4 million.
So families aren’t just telling pollsters they back choice; they’re voting with their feet.
Now imagine how tax subsidies would fuel that shift.
Which, of course, is precisely the problem for the unions: They lack control of private schools (and public charter schools), so they do everything in their power to block their funding.
And Democratic pols go along, even as kids lose.