Someone responded to my fiscal argument that New Hampshire cannot afford the Voucher program. They argued that well-meaning, motivated and inspired parents can educate their children without extracting the $20,000 per pupil from the local town budget. Their argument is short-sighted.

As someone who once underwrote summer youth education programs, I can tell you that 90% or more of the costs in our local school are fixed costs. These are costs that remain the same no matter how many students are in the class. That would be the cost of the teacher’s salary, special education programs, school activities, the heating of a building, the cleaning of the school at night, maintenance and repairs in a heating system, the buses, snow plowing, ground maintenance and playground and sports equipment.

When little Johnny’s family pockets their $5,400 voucher to have their sectarian education with no accountability and no oversight, they haven’t saved the town $20,000. They’ve cost the community $25,400. The town has to still pay fixed costs and make up for the decrease in funding it receives from the state. Once again, I state the obvious. New Hampshire is siphoning off money needed in local communities to fund this voucher program. If we’re going to be frugal, as our new Governor now says we should be to live within our means, we should eliminate the Education Freedom Account voucher program.

Wayne Fuller

Concord