House District (HD) 60 Rep. Dr. Glenn Rogers (R–Weatherford) published an op-ed in the Palo Pinto Press last week debunking the arguments of the school voucher supporters targeting his seat. Rogers, who is running for a fourth term against his 2022 primary opponent, Mike Olcott (R), is one of the key targets of voucher supporters such as Betsy DeVos’ Americans for Prosperity and Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Rogers, both a stalwart conservative and strong supporter of public schools, has to date continued to be reelected by the voters of the majority Republican district in which he serves despite facing well-funded primary opposition each election cycle since the beginning of his time in office. 

Rogers correctly points out in the article that the financial arguments made by voucher supporters to support creating a new taxpayer-funded entitlement program don’t hold when scrutinized and that the vast majority of those who accept vouchers in other states are not low-income families looking for an alternative to public schools, but those who already can afford and who in fact already attend private schools. Private schools would also end up having government intervention into their curriculum and processes if taking government money—an eventuality that would dilute the reasons why parents choose them in the first place.  Finally, he points out that taxpayers and elected officials, in addition to parents, must have the ability to take action when there are concerns about an institution that accepts public money. 

Read Rogers’ op-ed.