Barbour Talks School Vouchers
In most states, the Republican vs. Democrat (and by extension teacher union) debate on education reform centers around the issue of school vouchers, where low-income families can send their children to private schools. But in Mississippi, the debate still can’t get past charter schools, something widely available in most states- red and blue alike. Here is more information on charter schools and laws across the country.
But at a recent event in Indiana, an annual fundraiser for two local Catholic schools, Barbour praised Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels for signing voucher legislation into law this year and said that he is a proponent of such legislation.
Barbour said this: “Public schools, like any other entity, need competition. In our state, the Catholic schools on the Mississippi Gulf Coast spent about 60 cents for every $1 the public schools spend. Just like here, they have better results. But additionally, they make the public schools on the coast better. The public schools on the coast are some of the best in the whole state.”
Barbour singled out the Black Caucus as the hold up for similar legislation, as they have certainly been key in derailing actual charter school legislation in the House. He called the idea that it would lead to a return to segregation “backwards.”
