School choice is a great idea because it will lead to dramatic improvements in education.
But there is also a secondary benefit. Because of inherent waste and inefficiency, government schools are more costly. So adoption of school choice also can produce savings for taxpayers.
Defenders of the status quo, such as teacher unions and their allies, are claiming otherwise. This has become a big talking point for the left in Arizona, which is hoping to undermine the the statewide school choice plan enacted in 2022.
So, in a column for the Wall Street Journal, Jason Bedrick and Corey DeAngelis debunk the silly claim that the state’s school choice system will increase the burden of government spending.
Is school choice bankrupting Arizona? …With an ESA, parents can use a portion of their child’s state education funds—typically about $8,000 a year—to pay for private-school tuition …the Arizona Department of Education’s latest projection that the program, which has about 58,000 participants, will serve 100,000 students by the end of fiscal 2024 at a cost of roughly $900 million. …Arizona public schools spend about $14,000 per pupil, or $1.4 billion for 100,000 students. If the department’s enrollment projection is reached, school choice would serve roughly 8% of Arizona’s students for 6% of the $15 billion that Arizona will spend on public schools.
Needless to say, you don’t need to be a math genius to recognize that taxpayers save money by spending $8,000 per pupil rather than $14,000 per pupil.
By the way, this issue is not limited to Arizona. Here’s a tweet exchange showing that reformers are having to debunk the same arguments in Georgia and Texas.
I’ll close by reiterating that school choice should be pursued to improve educational outcomes. That is – far and away – the most important reason to break up the government school monopoly.
The good news for taxpayers is just a fringe benefit.
P.S. The multi-state adoption of school choice in recent years is great news, especially to those of us who have spent our adult lives watching Democrats throw good money after bad and watching Republicans throw good money after bad.
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Image credit: Ken Gallager | CC BY-SA 4.0.
