Louis Stokes: “I know from experience that school voucher programs are expensive, they do not work, and as the Ohio Court of Appeals…”

“I know from experience that school voucher programs are expensive, they do not work, and as the Ohio Court of Appeals determined, they are unconstitutional. A State-supported voucher initiative in my district which the Republicans have heralded as a success has been little benefit to the low-income students it was intended to reach. In fact, a recently released independent audit and evaluation of the Cleveland school program brought to light several critical facts about the program that should be considered in this debate. The audit found a flood of management flaws, including problems that ranged from the widespread and very costly use of taxis to transport kids to and from school, to the failure to verify financial eligibility, to inadequate measures to monitor student attendance. The audit shows a 41 percent cost overrun in the Cleveland voucher program that has resulted in this school year's costs being pushed from $7.1 million to $10 million.”