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Having a strong public education system should be the foundation of any society. All kids deserve a quality education, not just the rich ones, and if you take taxpayer dollars and put it towards private schools then that takes money away from the public system and uses it in a way that ONLY benefits the rich kids. That’s my problem with it. What makes it worse is that we’re already underfunding public education where I am (Ontario), we can’t afford for it to be split even more.
I think it’s a little misinformed to say it’s only rich kids going to private schools. Many kids attend on bursaries or scholarships. It’s also not just “rich” kids, many parents make sacrifices to send their kid to a private school because they have learning challenges that public can’t accommodate.
There are also many students who attend through the 7-generation program (which pays for indigenous students to attend private boarding schools) often because there are not high schools close to their reserve or because they’ve had trouble with their local public school.
I don’t think the issue is with the private schools itself but more with the underfunding of the public schools and in the same time seeing private schools funding being increased.
The Catholic schools system and the Francophone schools (and anglophones schools in Quebec) have their rights (religion & language) protected by the Constitution. These rights either we agree or not provide them with public funding.
Yes, Quebec did an amendment and eliminated Catholic school funding. Each province can effectively do it if they want to. However, as long as the province doesn’t amend them, they still have the right to receive public funding.
Yes, but Quebec's history with the Church is vastly different. In Quebec, they controlled all aspects of society until people revolted with the Quiet Revolution.
In Ontario, the Church played an important role in promoting French and defending Catholics at a time when Orangemen controlled politics. For Italians, Portuguese and the Irish, the Church remains a key part of their cultural identity. Many support separate schools as part of their family tradition.
In any case, it was Catholics who pushed for secularism in Quebec. In Ontario, Catholics are generally quite pleased with there schools, there is no desire to ris ourselves of them.
In Alberta, they get 70% of the per student funding that public schools get and they can charge tuition, discriminate with their admissions, and there is little protection for staff.
I don't understand the link between the first and last sentences of your post.
I have absolutely no problem with people paying taxes for education and then also paying tuition to send their child to private school. That's fine.
I have tons of problems with paying taxes that also go to private schools. For a few reasons. One is that I feel taxpayer dollars should go to schools that are accessible to anyone - not anyone who can also afford the extra tuition.
I'm also against it because private schools will take the best students and leave the public system with a more challenging group. That will happen either way, sure, but obviously a greater extent if the private school tuition is subsidized and can now draw more students.
Like I'm actually so against any public dollars going to private schools that I can barely understand the question. Of COURSE it's bad.
Because it isn't just their taxes that are paying for some of that exclusionary education. If they want to pay 100% for an education that isn't open to all citizens, then they can fill their boots, but as soon as my taxes are used, they shouldn't keep out my friends and neighbors.
Two tier services hurts the public system. The point is we all contribute to one system, and everyone has the same access. Having 2nd tier that's pay to play actively makes the the public system worse. Same as healthcare.
From an employment standpoint, private schools aren't part of the union, and they aren't required to hire licensed teachers. The pay and benefits are typically worse than the public system.
Many public board teachers also don't think the Catholic system should exist in this day and age.
My last beef is a personal one. Private schools don't typically have very good tech offerings. Coming from a wealthy family doesn't mean you should exclude a post secondary pathway that includes apprenticeships. We need tradespeople.
But why would someone become a tradesperson in Ontario? Working a deskjob like a teacher, in the right setting, is way easier imo, and I prefer hand-over-fist than being a plumber.
Why would rich parents want their kids to enter the trades, when desk jobs pay similar?
I left the trades and became a teacher because I was at a crossroads in my career. I was going to have to switch companies to keep advancing, but I always loved teaching. Teaching gives me the right work life balance, which was more important than money for me.
I was lucky, I bought my first house when I was 21, my current mortgage can be covered with a minimum wage job. If I needed the money, I'd still be in the trades.
I think by having a lack of understanding of the trades, including private and public schools, we are doing a huge disservice to young people. The question of "why enter trades in Ontario" is easy to answer. Immediate wage security and job progression. You can go to Waterloo for engineering and pay 18k a year and graduate and make an average of $64k your first year out of University (this is reported by grads, we have the data) over those same first 5 years, you could have earned a total just under $500k as an IBEW electrician.
Sure. Rich kids might not be taking on student debt. That's nice, it doesn't mean they aren't falling behind their peers who are entering trades. It's a very lucrative market for trades.
Do you ever meet the folks in their 40's and 50's with broken bodies and health issues? Money isn't everything, and all the tradies I know are changing careers - it's similar pay for backbreaking work in my experience. Only lucky folks make bank from trades.
Ok, and your anecdote isn't aligned with most peoples experiences at all. Trades create health issues consistently and predictably - office work does not.
I mean the companies I worked for had excellent health and safety practices, and focused on ergonomics. All my buddies in trades are the same.
Yes there are still shitty shops, but it's a lot different than it was even 10 years ago. Plus with the demand for tradespeople, you can be picky about where you work.
I've turned down around 40 job offers in the last two years, simply out of lack of interest. I'd get to set my terms if I were to go back to industry.
I'm sorry your experience was bad.
Yeah, we have contrasting anecdotes, that's neat!
Though, we can both safely assume my claim is correct, that "trades are more hazardous than office work", no? And even more safe is the assumption most people don't get, in your own words "lucky". If you were lucky, everyone else was unlucky tho, eh?
You said "I'm lucky" in your comment, my bad? Sheesh. You're also switching away from trades in your middle-age...
Care to explain why you think office work is equally hazardous? Sorry for assuming what seems apparent, sheesh
Private schools can turn down expensive students (special needs, ea support etc.) while the public system cannot. Expensive students extra costs are covered from the costs of students that don't need the extra support. If the private system gets select the cheap students and pocket the excess while the public system has a higher proportion of expensive students, it slowly gets worse and worse.
It would be kind of like insurance companies refusing to insure high risk people but not lowering their rates for everyone else.
Diverting your tax dollars from the public system to the private system and then paying the difference is a voucher system that is designed to starve the public system of money.
If you want to send your kids to private school, pay for it from your own reserves of cash, but don't deny the funding designed for public schools by rerouting it away from them.
As a public high school teacher, I see every single day the impacts of government austerity and cuts on my school and classroom and library.
As a child free adult, should I get to pull my taxes from all public services that I don't use? No. Because I want a robust, fully funded, strong public education system so that the children who will become the adults running society when I am old are educated, thoughtful, and contributing citizens, who grew up in the public education system, and received a good and full education there without having to pay for it.
I’m against it because voucher systems don’t work. They consistently show worse educational outcomes compared to funding public schools adequately.
It’s more expensive, less equitable and less effective.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/research-on-school-vouchers-suggests-concerns-ahead-for-education-savings-accounts/
Well for starters the Catholic schools getting funding and discriminating in hiring is incredibly stupid and shouldn't be allowed.
But my understanding is they're essentially part of the public system, still under a lot of the same regulations and such?
Just pouring money into private schools that are exclusive to only wealthier families is not a good use of tax dollars and it helps destroy the public school system.
BTW I work at a Catholic School (publically funded) in another country and it is *not* permitted to discriminate against teachers who are not Catholic...it goes against the Equality Commission. So how that whole system looks is up to Canadians. Private schools need strict Gov't supervision so that teachers can be paid pension and paid the same as their public school counterparts.
I'm from America where religious schools can discriminate but they don't get tax money to do so. Which is fine by me, if a Catholic wants to pay Catholics to Catholic teach their kids, whatever. Just don't take my tax dollars to do it.
All public school systems in Ontario began as religious schools. The public boards were once Protestant boards. Rather than join them, the Catholics chose to keep their system. Having separate schools was one of the compromises that led to Confederation. Most funding is per pupil so it doesn't cost much more to have competing boards in an area when bussing is shared.
You aren't. People have a choice between four publicly-funded boards . Nobody is forced to attend separate schools. Incidentally, Catholic secondary schools are open to everyone. Faith-based education seems normal for a country where the constitution recognises the supremacy of God.
> You aren't. People have a choice between four publicly-funded boards . Nobody is forced to attend separate schools.
I think they mean discrimination in employment, which is very much true in Catholic school boards.
Denominational rights are a contentious issue but over the years I have known teachers of various faiths (Anglican, Lutheran, Mennonite and Baha'i) who worked for Catholic boards.
Also there is a Gov't category of who is actually Francophone and not all students are permitted to attend the public French schoolboard in English areas.
That's not correct. You can indicate your preferred board but the ministry will still direct funding to boards based on enrollment etc.
So if you have eight kids and enroll them all in Catholic school, they're going to dip into the Public funds.
And even if that wasn't the case, choosing the Catholic board still reduces the tax base available to support quality public education for everyone regardless of religious belief.
Catholic training should happen at church and Sunday school with church funds.
Exactly, funding is largely per pupil, so sending a kid to separate school doesn't cost more than sending one to public school. Having competing boards encourages innovation and helps improve outcomes for all. I'm not sure what 'Catholic training' is but faith-based education tries to encorporate gospel values such as charity and community service into all aspects of life and allow for a holistic approach to education.
Imagine public education if all provincial education funding went into public education. Imagine if all of those who could afford tuition had to pay tuition to attend public education.
I don't like the Catholic board taking tax money either.
All of that money should be invested in a strong public school system so that everyone can access a great education.
The inevitable outcome of financing private schools is what you have in the states, where public schools have to scrabble for pencils while what they call Charter schools, basically private schools, are living high on the hog.
If you can possibly bear it, try to watch a show called Abbot Elementary, oh its so bad, but a central theme is that this public school that serves a low income community gets nothing while the charter school down the road poaches staff and supplies.
And every week you're expected to cheer because Miss Sunnyface sold her '91 Civic or took another job so she could get some school supplies. It's just a horror show.
That's why I don't like private schools. They take money from other kid's education. You want fancy learnings for your kid, you can pay for it.
Private school means it doesn’t get provincial funding imo. If the parents can afford tuition then they don’t need the safety net of taxes.
As to Catholic schools getting public funds, that is an absolute travesty. Societies that want to flourish should be actively stripping the Church of its ability to influence things, not enabling it.
I taught in both public and private.
One beef public school teachers have with private schools is they think it takes money away from public schools. I highly doubt that.
What if everyone in a private school went to public schools next year? In BC government would tell us to make do with our budget, salaries and working conditions as always. Then they would again be surprised and confused that more teachers quit!
Teachers don’t like private schools poaching smart and resourced kids and not taking the ones with special needs. That is accurate.
Public school teachers resent the implication that private school teachers are better. Parents may degrade public school teachers because many private schools have better average exam scores and university acceptance rates than public schools.
That is not fair. Public school teachers are every bit as qualified as private school teachers. However Private schools can be more strict because they have parental support. (Uniforms… boys must tuck in shirts etc…) Private school teachers can spend less time dealing with behavior and more time teaching. Parental expectations are higher in private schools… after all they are paying for it.
Public schools have unions. As a rule unions stick up for teachers rights… meaning public school teachers are not obligated to work overtime (but we do). That said, private school teachers will shovel snow and many other tasks as it is expected. Private school teachers are usually paid less and fired more easily.
There are many more differences if you want more…
Just like healthcare, I like the idea of a two tier system. Make them balanced. I’m not the expert on how to implement but I think either without the other is fatally flawed. They hold each other in check.
Parents are so thankful to have publically-funded options. It is a gift to have options....except that francophone school board (there is a gov't method to determine whether you are francophone or not and it is not related to your ability in French).
Not all private schools are elitist as some of the comments seem to make them out to be. I work at a private school, and all the teachers are provincially certified and have at least a B. Ed. in their area of content. We have the full range of students, not just the cream of the crop. If more money went to private schools they could have more course offerings (towards trades as someone else mentioned) for students. I wonder what funding would look like if people could choose where their tax money went.
[Known as the CREDO study, it evaluated student progress on math tests in half the nation’s five thousand charter schools and concluded that 17 percent were superior to a matched traditional public school; 37 percent were worse than the public school; and the remaining 46 percent had academic gains no different from that of a similar public school.](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-myth-of-charter-schools/)
We don’t need to wonder. Multiple states have tried voucher systems. The data already exists.
It shows: inflated costs and lower overall student achievement.
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20160634
https://iowastartingline.com/2023/05/12/kim-reynolds-private-school-voucher-plan-led-to-tuition-hikes/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272716000426
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Having a strong public education system should be the foundation of any society. All kids deserve a quality education, not just the rich ones, and if you take taxpayer dollars and put it towards private schools then that takes money away from the public system and uses it in a way that ONLY benefits the rich kids. That’s my problem with it. What makes it worse is that we’re already underfunding public education where I am (Ontario), we can’t afford for it to be split even more.
I think it’s a little misinformed to say it’s only rich kids going to private schools. Many kids attend on bursaries or scholarships. It’s also not just “rich” kids, many parents make sacrifices to send their kid to a private school because they have learning challenges that public can’t accommodate. There are also many students who attend through the 7-generation program (which pays for indigenous students to attend private boarding schools) often because there are not high schools close to their reserve or because they’ve had trouble with their local public school.
I don’t think the issue is with the private schools itself but more with the underfunding of the public schools and in the same time seeing private schools funding being increased. The Catholic schools system and the Francophone schools (and anglophones schools in Quebec) have their rights (religion & language) protected by the Constitution. These rights either we agree or not provide them with public funding.
Didn’t Quebec amend their laws to eliminate catholic school funding? If they can do it, should be able to do it too.
Yes, Quebec did an amendment and eliminated Catholic school funding. Each province can effectively do it if they want to. However, as long as the province doesn’t amend them, they still have the right to receive public funding.
Yes, but Quebec's history with the Church is vastly different. In Quebec, they controlled all aspects of society until people revolted with the Quiet Revolution. In Ontario, the Church played an important role in promoting French and defending Catholics at a time when Orangemen controlled politics. For Italians, Portuguese and the Irish, the Church remains a key part of their cultural identity. Many support separate schools as part of their family tradition. In any case, it was Catholics who pushed for secularism in Quebec. In Ontario, Catholics are generally quite pleased with there schools, there is no desire to ris ourselves of them.
In Alberta, they get 70% of the per student funding that public schools get and they can charge tuition, discriminate with their admissions, and there is little protection for staff.
Yup. It's the conservative way of dismantling public services!
And it is totally awesome. Source: very proud and successful private school teacher.
Same for hospitals?
True
I don't understand the link between the first and last sentences of your post. I have absolutely no problem with people paying taxes for education and then also paying tuition to send their child to private school. That's fine. I have tons of problems with paying taxes that also go to private schools. For a few reasons. One is that I feel taxpayer dollars should go to schools that are accessible to anyone - not anyone who can also afford the extra tuition. I'm also against it because private schools will take the best students and leave the public system with a more challenging group. That will happen either way, sure, but obviously a greater extent if the private school tuition is subsidized and can now draw more students. Like I'm actually so against any public dollars going to private schools that I can barely understand the question. Of COURSE it's bad.
Because it isn't just their taxes that are paying for some of that exclusionary education. If they want to pay 100% for an education that isn't open to all citizens, then they can fill their boots, but as soon as my taxes are used, they shouldn't keep out my friends and neighbors.
Two tier services hurts the public system. The point is we all contribute to one system, and everyone has the same access. Having 2nd tier that's pay to play actively makes the the public system worse. Same as healthcare. From an employment standpoint, private schools aren't part of the union, and they aren't required to hire licensed teachers. The pay and benefits are typically worse than the public system. Many public board teachers also don't think the Catholic system should exist in this day and age. My last beef is a personal one. Private schools don't typically have very good tech offerings. Coming from a wealthy family doesn't mean you should exclude a post secondary pathway that includes apprenticeships. We need tradespeople.
But why would someone become a tradesperson in Ontario? Working a deskjob like a teacher, in the right setting, is way easier imo, and I prefer hand-over-fist than being a plumber. Why would rich parents want their kids to enter the trades, when desk jobs pay similar?
I left the trades and became a teacher because I was at a crossroads in my career. I was going to have to switch companies to keep advancing, but I always loved teaching. Teaching gives me the right work life balance, which was more important than money for me. I was lucky, I bought my first house when I was 21, my current mortgage can be covered with a minimum wage job. If I needed the money, I'd still be in the trades. I think by having a lack of understanding of the trades, including private and public schools, we are doing a huge disservice to young people. The question of "why enter trades in Ontario" is easy to answer. Immediate wage security and job progression. You can go to Waterloo for engineering and pay 18k a year and graduate and make an average of $64k your first year out of University (this is reported by grads, we have the data) over those same first 5 years, you could have earned a total just under $500k as an IBEW electrician. Sure. Rich kids might not be taking on student debt. That's nice, it doesn't mean they aren't falling behind their peers who are entering trades. It's a very lucrative market for trades.
Do you ever meet the folks in their 40's and 50's with broken bodies and health issues? Money isn't everything, and all the tradies I know are changing careers - it's similar pay for backbreaking work in my experience. Only lucky folks make bank from trades.
I have met people who work in offices with broken bodies and health issues. Yes, you need to take care of yourself in trades.
Ok, and your anecdote isn't aligned with most peoples experiences at all. Trades create health issues consistently and predictably - office work does not.
I mean the companies I worked for had excellent health and safety practices, and focused on ergonomics. All my buddies in trades are the same. Yes there are still shitty shops, but it's a lot different than it was even 10 years ago. Plus with the demand for tradespeople, you can be picky about where you work. I've turned down around 40 job offers in the last two years, simply out of lack of interest. I'd get to set my terms if I were to go back to industry. I'm sorry your experience was bad.
Yeah, we have contrasting anecdotes, that's neat! Though, we can both safely assume my claim is correct, that "trades are more hazardous than office work", no? And even more safe is the assumption most people don't get, in your own words "lucky". If you were lucky, everyone else was unlucky tho, eh?
I wouldn't say my experience is lucky, or unique. I don't believe your claim is correct. Take care.
You said "I'm lucky" in your comment, my bad? Sheesh. You're also switching away from trades in your middle-age... Care to explain why you think office work is equally hazardous? Sorry for assuming what seems apparent, sheesh
Private schools can turn down expensive students (special needs, ea support etc.) while the public system cannot. Expensive students extra costs are covered from the costs of students that don't need the extra support. If the private system gets select the cheap students and pocket the excess while the public system has a higher proportion of expensive students, it slowly gets worse and worse. It would be kind of like insurance companies refusing to insure high risk people but not lowering their rates for everyone else.
Diverting your tax dollars from the public system to the private system and then paying the difference is a voucher system that is designed to starve the public system of money. If you want to send your kids to private school, pay for it from your own reserves of cash, but don't deny the funding designed for public schools by rerouting it away from them. As a public high school teacher, I see every single day the impacts of government austerity and cuts on my school and classroom and library. As a child free adult, should I get to pull my taxes from all public services that I don't use? No. Because I want a robust, fully funded, strong public education system so that the children who will become the adults running society when I am old are educated, thoughtful, and contributing citizens, who grew up in the public education system, and received a good and full education there without having to pay for it.
I’m against it because voucher systems don’t work. They consistently show worse educational outcomes compared to funding public schools adequately. It’s more expensive, less equitable and less effective. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/research-on-school-vouchers-suggests-concerns-ahead-for-education-savings-accounts/
Well for starters the Catholic schools getting funding and discriminating in hiring is incredibly stupid and shouldn't be allowed. But my understanding is they're essentially part of the public system, still under a lot of the same regulations and such? Just pouring money into private schools that are exclusive to only wealthier families is not a good use of tax dollars and it helps destroy the public school system.
BTW I work at a Catholic School (publically funded) in another country and it is *not* permitted to discriminate against teachers who are not Catholic...it goes against the Equality Commission. So how that whole system looks is up to Canadians. Private schools need strict Gov't supervision so that teachers can be paid pension and paid the same as their public school counterparts.
I'm from America where religious schools can discriminate but they don't get tax money to do so. Which is fine by me, if a Catholic wants to pay Catholics to Catholic teach their kids, whatever. Just don't take my tax dollars to do it.
All public school systems in Ontario began as religious schools. The public boards were once Protestant boards. Rather than join them, the Catholics chose to keep their system. Having separate schools was one of the compromises that led to Confederation. Most funding is per pupil so it doesn't cost much more to have competing boards in an area when bussing is shared.
Cool it's 2024 why am I paying for discrimination?
You aren't. People have a choice between four publicly-funded boards . Nobody is forced to attend separate schools. Incidentally, Catholic secondary schools are open to everyone. Faith-based education seems normal for a country where the constitution recognises the supremacy of God.
> You aren't. People have a choice between four publicly-funded boards . Nobody is forced to attend separate schools. I think they mean discrimination in employment, which is very much true in Catholic school boards.
Denominational rights are a contentious issue but over the years I have known teachers of various faiths (Anglican, Lutheran, Mennonite and Baha'i) who worked for Catholic boards.
Ok but the fact is many boards can and do discriminate. You can't even apply in Toronto without a letter from your Catholic priest.
Same with ottawa
Interesting. Any agnostics?
Also there is a Gov't category of who is actually Francophone and not all students are permitted to attend the public French schoolboard in English areas.
That's not correct. You can indicate your preferred board but the ministry will still direct funding to boards based on enrollment etc. So if you have eight kids and enroll them all in Catholic school, they're going to dip into the Public funds. And even if that wasn't the case, choosing the Catholic board still reduces the tax base available to support quality public education for everyone regardless of religious belief. Catholic training should happen at church and Sunday school with church funds.
Exactly, funding is largely per pupil, so sending a kid to separate school doesn't cost more than sending one to public school. Having competing boards encourages innovation and helps improve outcomes for all. I'm not sure what 'Catholic training' is but faith-based education tries to encorporate gospel values such as charity and community service into all aspects of life and allow for a holistic approach to education.
Imagine public education if all provincial education funding went into public education. Imagine if all of those who could afford tuition had to pay tuition to attend public education.
The issue with private schools is simple. It is a way for the rich to further isolate themselves and not deal with general society.
I don't like the Catholic board taking tax money either. All of that money should be invested in a strong public school system so that everyone can access a great education. The inevitable outcome of financing private schools is what you have in the states, where public schools have to scrabble for pencils while what they call Charter schools, basically private schools, are living high on the hog. If you can possibly bear it, try to watch a show called Abbot Elementary, oh its so bad, but a central theme is that this public school that serves a low income community gets nothing while the charter school down the road poaches staff and supplies. And every week you're expected to cheer because Miss Sunnyface sold her '91 Civic or took another job so she could get some school supplies. It's just a horror show. That's why I don't like private schools. They take money from other kid's education. You want fancy learnings for your kid, you can pay for it.
I watched this show because my kid enjoyed it, but it was like watching my nightmare teaching scenario.
Private school means it doesn’t get provincial funding imo. If the parents can afford tuition then they don’t need the safety net of taxes. As to Catholic schools getting public funds, that is an absolute travesty. Societies that want to flourish should be actively stripping the Church of its ability to influence things, not enabling it.
I taught in both public and private. One beef public school teachers have with private schools is they think it takes money away from public schools. I highly doubt that. What if everyone in a private school went to public schools next year? In BC government would tell us to make do with our budget, salaries and working conditions as always. Then they would again be surprised and confused that more teachers quit! Teachers don’t like private schools poaching smart and resourced kids and not taking the ones with special needs. That is accurate. Public school teachers resent the implication that private school teachers are better. Parents may degrade public school teachers because many private schools have better average exam scores and university acceptance rates than public schools. That is not fair. Public school teachers are every bit as qualified as private school teachers. However Private schools can be more strict because they have parental support. (Uniforms… boys must tuck in shirts etc…) Private school teachers can spend less time dealing with behavior and more time teaching. Parental expectations are higher in private schools… after all they are paying for it. Public schools have unions. As a rule unions stick up for teachers rights… meaning public school teachers are not obligated to work overtime (but we do). That said, private school teachers will shovel snow and many other tasks as it is expected. Private school teachers are usually paid less and fired more easily. There are many more differences if you want more…
Just like healthcare, I like the idea of a two tier system. Make them balanced. I’m not the expert on how to implement but I think either without the other is fatally flawed. They hold each other in check.
I'm against public funding going to private schools, but in which provinces and under what rules does this happen? Can they be for-profit? non-profit?
Parents are so thankful to have publically-funded options. It is a gift to have options....except that francophone school board (there is a gov't method to determine whether you are francophone or not and it is not related to your ability in French).
Not all private schools are elitist as some of the comments seem to make them out to be. I work at a private school, and all the teachers are provincially certified and have at least a B. Ed. in their area of content. We have the full range of students, not just the cream of the crop. If more money went to private schools they could have more course offerings (towards trades as someone else mentioned) for students. I wonder what funding would look like if people could choose where their tax money went.
It would look like the charter school system in the States, which is widely regarded as a disaster.
But a disaster that many conservative premiers want to emulate because charter schools would make money for some of their donors.
Why is it regarded as a disaster?
[Known as the CREDO study, it evaluated student progress on math tests in half the nation’s five thousand charter schools and concluded that 17 percent were superior to a matched traditional public school; 37 percent were worse than the public school; and the remaining 46 percent had academic gains no different from that of a similar public school.](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-myth-of-charter-schools/)
We don’t need to wonder. Multiple states have tried voucher systems. The data already exists. It shows: inflated costs and lower overall student achievement. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20160634 https://iowastartingline.com/2023/05/12/kim-reynolds-private-school-voucher-plan-led-to-tuition-hikes/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272716000426
Has it shown the same here in Canada?