August 19, 2011 12:55 AM UTC

DougCo Religious School Vouchers: Totally Unrelated To Property Tax Hike!

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• by: Colorado Pols

FOX 31’s Kim Posey leads off our update on the state of play in Douglas County, whose excellent public school system (rated one of the best in the state) is now mired in controversy over a plan to fund tuition at private, mostly religious schools.

Dozens of people showed up at the Douglas County School Board meeting Tuesday night to let board members know exactly what they think about the controversial voucher program.

That program would have given taxpayer money to up to 500 families to pay tuition to private schools. But a judge put a halt to the program on Friday, saying it is unconstitutional to give state money to private or religious schools…

“They are taking public money to fund private schools, and I just don’t think that’s right,” said Marilyn Ayers.

The other big issue discussed at the meeting was the potential for a bond and mill levy ballot question…

We’ll get back to that mill levy increase proposal in a moment. Today, the AP reported that private schools affected by the injunction will still allow students to begin class:

[P]rivate schools including Aspen Academy, Denver Christian Schools and Lutheran High School have notified the district that they will stand behind accepted voucher students.

Valor Christian High School’s board says it hopes to make up the money through donations…

Sounds wonderfully altruistic and charitable on the part of “Valor Christian School,” doesn’t it? As always there’s just one small problem, as the Huffington Post reports:

The preliminary and permanent injunction issued by Denver District Judge Michael Martinez forces Douglas County School District to cancel its program, but leaves to question the manner in which the program is dismantled. Of the 500 voucher students, 304 have already gotten to the process where they were eligible to receive the check, district spokesman Randy Barber told The Huffington Post today. In addition, $300,000 of the contested voucher funds have already been sent out… [Pols emphasis]

It’s not quite the gamble that it seemed for Valor Christian. They’re being “generous” because they’ve already been paid for part of the school year. Injunction or no injunction, $300,000 from district funds have already been paid to private schools like Valor Christian. We’ve also heard complaints about a tiny percentage of disabled children who consistently receive press attention, concealing the fact that the overwhelming majority of participants are religious schools and ordinary students–and that school districts are already required to make fully adequate accommodation for disabled students, to the point of covering private tuition if needed.

And yes, Douglas County needs a $20 million mill levy increase! If they don’t get it, there will be consequences (see “Blue Budget” slide from their presentation above). Now, we have no interest in disputing that Douglas County needs this additional $10 million a year to fund their new performance-based pay plan, or the $10 million more for “classrooms”–schools in Colorado are chronically underfunded. Is it fair to question the GOP-controlled school board’s judgment in asking for more “classroom” funding, when your beef is with the religious school voucher program? Since the funds they’re seeking are not intended for the voucher program?

Because it’s a real shame that’s exactly what’s going to happen.