“Isn’t that just a voucher?” I often hear that question when I discuss enabling students to use public dollars to attend private schools. This question is an attempt to do two things: (1) lump all forms of state-supported private school choice programs into one group and (2) dismiss these programs with a word that to some has a negative connotation. Labeling all programs that give students the ability to attend a private school with state money a “voucher” may be an effective rhetorical device, but it obfuscates the important distinctions that exist between different types of programs. Even worse, it ignores the potential benefits private school choice programs can bring to students and the state.

Imagine a school in which the highest prize for academic achievement went to the student who had been there the longest. Though it seems ridiculous to reward students in this manner, this is exactly how school districts reward teachers — by longevity. Teachers by and large are paid on a single salary schedule. These schedules not only fail to reward teachers based on their quality, but they fail to recognize that teaching different subjects and grade levels requires different skill sets and that those particular skill sets are in varying demand in the marketplace. For instance, there are reportedly 3.1 jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for every one unemployed person in Missouri. In comparison, there is only 1 non-STEM job for every 3.7 unemployed people. This means teachers with strong backgrounds in math and science may have more, higher-paying options outside of teaching. This is a reality we must address.

Missouri’s two largest cities, and their related primary counties, have chosen substantially different systems of local government. The stark differences between Saint Louis and Kansas City stand out, even though it is common for larger cities within the same state to have different government structures.1 These differences among the governments of Kansas City and Jackson County, and Saint Louis City and the neighboring, but separate, Saint Louis County, are both obvious and subtle. In fact, the few similarities are rare enough to be notable by that reason (similarity) alone.