Yesterday, the State Senate in PA passed a voucher bill that will give voucher to students trapped in the 5% of schools that are chronically bottom performers. It is unlikely right now that this bill will pass the PA House. If it does, however, the governor will sign it. My heart goes out to these students. They need rescued from these schools. The present situation illustrates how the state is going to attempt this rescue. Yesterday I was at a meeting of Christian administrators in the area. Our governor, Tom Corbett, was hoping to be there, but in the end he was not able to attend. Would he have attended and would I have had a chance to speak with him this is what I would have liked to say.

“Governor Corbett, thank you for your commitment to help students trapped in failing schools. We all applaud this desire and we are ready to work to work with you or anyone else to rescue people trapped in cycles of poverty, sin, and brokenness. We know that the problems that you face regarding our budget and especially educational funding are more than challenging. We pray that God would give you wisdom as you make these crucial decisions.

“When challenges face us, we need first to see them clearly and to recognize their gravity. Here are a few parts of the challenge that we face. These facts are not in dispute:

• We have made promises to retired teachers concerning their pension and benefits—promises that we do not have the funds to keep. These promises are going to result in higher taxes or in significant cuts in present spending for education (and other programs) so that we can fund the pensions and benefits of retired teachers.
• By any measure, some of our schools are failing. They are not producing students that are employable because they do not have skills necessary for employment (solid reading and math skills). By many measures, most of our school are sliding backwards. We are spending on average over $13,000 per student.
• These issues are not JUST educational issues. They are, in fact, societal issues. The educational disaster students face is tied inextricably to a moral crisis—a moral apocalypse—in our culture. It is not just that many of our students do not know how to read, but we, as a society, are having problems explaining to them why they should learn. Our best attempts are often pointing them toward the job that they can get or the money that they can make. These goads are insufficient to motivate true dedication. They are, in fact, dead ends. If we are to motivate our students, we need to give them a vision of that shows them that the good life is not made up of only material possessions, but of things like love, commitment, service, and sacrifice.

As we approach this problem, we have to recognize that small solutions and tiny fixes are not going to be helpful. The system is broken. Its failure is obvious. The cost of maintaining the present system can be measured in dollars and cents (dollars and cents that we do not have!) but the human cost of failure in this area are even more terrifying and more expensive. If we do not effectively deal with this problem we should not dare to hope for our Commonwealth or nation to long survive.

Seeing this crucial problem you have offered a response. I applaud parts of this response. I am concerned about some of the direction. Most Christian schools in our state exist on very limited funding. Many are desperate for money. Many of the proposals that you have made will help students and will allow families to choose schools that are accountable to the market and to the parents in ways that the public schools are not. The programs that you offer will enable some students (students in the worst schools) to have a way to escape. My heart goes out to these students and I have spent many hours considering how Christian schools like mine can be part of serving and rescuing these students.

The danger is dependency. Christian schools have a lot to offer needy students. They typically educate more efficiently (at a lower cost per student). They are able—unlike public school presently—to cut to the heart of the matter. Christian schools can openly proclaim the truth that is so deeply needed by these students. Christian schools can give students reason for living that points above ambition and possessions. We call them to lay down their lives for others; because Christ is Lord. He has conquered death and He has made a way of forgiveness for you. In light of His sacrifice and in light of His promises, we can boldly lay down our lives for others. This message is crucial if we want to provide hope and guidance for our charges.

I believe that you would affirm the value and power of this message. I think that in your proposal concerning vouchers you are trying to help these students escape a failing system and you are doing something that is helpful (financially) to Christian schools. The dependency that this can and will cause is terribly dangerous. I do not believe that you will tie any sort of restrictions that would keep us from proclaiming the truth of the gospel to the voucher. You can, I hope, see that this string can and no doubt will be tied in the future. When that happens, many Christian schools will face a terrible choice: fail financially or stop proclaiming the truth. The first choice ends your existence; the second ends your reason for existence.

But can’t schools simply budget for the voucher and protect themselves against these future problems? No! Voucher money pollutes the main stream of income for schools—the stream of tuition funds. These funds make up the bulk of most operating budgets.

You are working to expand the Educational Improvement Tax Credit which enables some businesses to support scholarships for needy students. Thank you for working to expand this program. We believe that it serves the tax payers well and helps some needy students get a better education. Dependence on this program can endanger the future of schools, but we can budget against it. Setting aside funds to protect our schools if and when this program ends can and should be done. Ending the program would harm particular students, but schools could survive and remain independent if they are careful.

Again, sir, thank you for your effort. May God bless your administration as you serve as Christ’s minister (Romans 13:4).