This op-ed was written by Linn-Benton Community College’s Civil Discourse Program. To learn more about the program, you can visit its website here and its guidebook here.
Although an effort to put a school voucher program on the Oregon ballot in 2024 failed, the debate has gained some momentum following the release of the state’s National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores in 2025. Since the pandemic, the reading and math scores of middle and elementary students in Oregon public schools have dropped to among the worst in the nation.
Discussions have followed regarding the causes of the state’s poor NAEP performance; beyond just more oversight on spending, advocates have been pushing for better support for teachers and smaller class sizes – two points that led to the Greater Albany Public School strike in 2024.
Another solution proposed by lawmakers has been expanding the state’s school choice opportunities. Would this improve Oregon’s struggling academic performance?
YES
By Mark Nusom, Ryland Bickley, Joshua Hewitt, and the Civil Discourse Program.
The “Nation’s Report Card” was released in January 2025, and Oregon is near the bottom of the class.
Oregon’s fourth-graders ranked second-worst in the United States in math and were tied for third-worst in reading, with the state’s public schools long considered among the most underperforming in the country.
It’s abundantly clear that students aren’t getting the education they deserve in Oregon, making it a necessity for the state to adopt a school voucher system. Such a program would allow students and their parents to use state funding to pick the school of their choice rather than paying out-of-pocket for options outside their local public school, giving families better educational choices in a struggling state.
A common, and understandable, argument against school choice is that a mass exodus of students and funding from public schools due to voucher programs could deplete already struggling districts, worsening conditions for those left behind.
However, recent data shows that the root of Oregon’s education problems is not funding – the state ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to education spending, and legislators have repeatedly invested more money in the failing system. The cost per pupil has nearly doubled ($9,543 to $17,161) from 2013 to 2024, far outpacing inflation. Despite this, school performance continues to worsen.
Private schools consistently outperform their public counterparts on standardized tests. More importantly, they often provide smaller class sizes and more specialized attention, which can be especially important for those with special needs. They also offer environments where students report feeling safer and more engaged in their education.
Oregon’s schools have a management issue that can’t be easily solved with more taxpayer dollars. It’s systemic, and politicians have yet to agree on a clear path forward. Until then, this current generation of students should not be forced to stay in their current school if better options are available.
Mark recalls that although his family was financially struggling when he was growing up, they were so uncomfortable with the public schooling in their area that they turned to private education. The nearest public school had issues of drug use, violence, and even multiple bomb threats. However, without a school voucher system, Mark’s parents labored to provide for him and his siblings the safe education they deserved.
Throughout Mark’s high school career, he remembers stories of overdoses, fights, lockdowns, and other disturbances from the neighboring public school. However, at his school, he never felt unsafe. Like many students, he didn’t lock his car in the parking lot nor did he even have a lock on his locker.
The relationship between safety and academic success is proven, and many parents reasonably prioritize their child’s safety when considering schools for their children.
Public education in Oregon has been plagued with issues both academically and in terms of safety. For these reasons, we believe that giving parents access to school choice will help them provide their children with the education they deem most appropriate. Oregon students deserve better options than the current system provides, and school vouchers represent a practical path toward educational improvement in our state.
NO
By Norah Steed, April Jang, Zion Okano, and the Civil Discourse Program.
Adoption of a school choice system does not necessarily mean everybody will have a choice.
The benefits of school choice programs are centralized with those who can take advantage of them, but the burden of school choice programs is shared by all residents. When a student uses a school choice program to apply funds to private school attendance, that money is taken away from the public school it would have otherwise gone to. This leaves public schools with less resources, making them less prepared to provide for their remaining student body.
Additionally, school choice programs don’t effectively improve the financial accessibility of private schools, as they tend not to cover the full price of tuition. All they do is make private education a little bit cheaper for families that are already economically secure enough to pay the bill where state funds fall short.
School choice presents opportunities for certain families at the expense of others, especially those who live in rural areas. As a third of Oregonians live in rural areas, adopting a school choice program is a bad idea for our state. Private schools are primarily located in urban population centers, and while most public schools provide free bussing to all students, free transportation to private schools is provided significantly less frequently. As such, access to a private education is only available to those who are able to commute, which isn’t possible for many students, especially those who are economically disadvantaged or live in rural areas.
As a public school student who grew up in rural Oregon, Norah understands the importance of free, reliable transportation to and from school. Living miles out of town and only having one family car, some days it was hard enough to get to the public school, and she and her siblings often relied on the school bus to get to class. Commuting to the nearest private school would have been economically and logistically impossible. Many factors prevent students from attending private schools beyond the sticker price of tuition. Even with tuition costs alleviated through school choice programs, a private education is still inaccessible to many families.
It is the responsibility of a community to provide equitable, accessible education for its young residents, and public schools provide much more than education. As Samuel E. Abrams, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University puts it, “If you lose your school, you lose your town.” Public schools function as community centers, providing resources for families and a gathering place for local organizations.
For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Norah’s school health clinic was the primary free vaccination location for her town. Even when families send their children to private schools, they are still supported by their local public school system. As such, their tax dollars should continue to support the school. Norah believes that her rural high school (one of roughly a third of Oregon schools that qualify for free lunch and breakfast for all students under Community Eligibility Provision assistance for low-income areas) would be harmed by school choice. Perhaps a few students from affluent families would leave for private institutions, but the general student body would only experience a tightening in their school’s already tight budget.
School choice programs aren’t designed to serve the majority or the most needy. They are designed to help the wealthy, and that is what they do. Oregon needs to focus on improving the sinking ship that is its public school system, rather than offering economically secure families life rafts. School choice should not be implemented in Oregon.
