Board Resolution: Opposition to School Vouchers

During the March 10, 2022 meeting, the Bondurant-Farrar Board of Education adopted a resolution opposing SF 2349.

The Board’s perspective is: 

• Use public dollars for public schools. The public’s investment should be used to support public community schools which are open to all students regardless of race, religion, gender, socio-economic status and disability, not for those who might already choose private education.  
• Public funds require public accountability and transparency. Public schools are overseen by a publicly elected citizen governing board, are required to report academic results to the general public, have an annual public financial audit, and be transparent with all expenditures and decision-making. Private and religious schools are not held to that same public standard. Taxpayers have a right to know how their funds are being used.
• Taxpayers without children lose their say over how their tax dollars are spent. Public schools have publicly elected school boards and public meetings. Private schools are not held to the same standard.
• A slippery slope toward a costly and expansive voucher program: This voucher program may start small, but as we've seen in other states, once a program is established, it expands. This will pull more resources away from public schools.

The Board’s official resolution can be found below.