美国国家公共电台 NPR--Florida expands its voucher program to every student, regardless of income

Florida expands its voucher¹ program to every student, regardless of income

Transcript²

GOP lawmakers in Florida have voted to expand the state's school voucher program to every student, regardless of family income. Critics say lawmakers have wildly underestimated the program's costs.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Florida is on the verge³ of what could be the country's biggest expansion of a school choice program, even though no one seems to know how much it will cost. The Florida state Senate put the price tag at $646 million. Other estimates go as high as $4 billion. Lynn Hatter of WFSU has been looking into it.

LYNN HATTER, BYLINE⁴: Florida already has a school voucher program. It's primarily for children who are low to moderate income or have special needs. They can use state money to attend private school or spend it on some educational support services. But Republican lawmakers have voted to expand that program a lot. The new proposal allows all children in the state to become eligible⁵ regardless of their family income. That's similar to what Arizona offers its students.

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MITZI EPSTEIN: Our leadership and our majority side decided⁶ to expand vouchers⁷ without funding it.

HATTER: That's Arizona state Senate Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein, a Democrat⁸. Epstein recently spoke⁹ with Florida Democrats¹⁰ about what she calls a $200- to $300 million budget hole in her state due to its universal voucher program.

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EPSTEIN: It could extend to as much as $1 billion, and our entire budget is only $15 or $16 billion.

HATTER: Arizona isn't the only state grappling with a cost problem. A recent estimate on a plan to let all kids in Ohio become eligible for school vouchers was priced at $1 billion, though that bill's sponsor has taken issue with the estimate. For school choice supporters, the potential financial impact of finally getting what advocates have called universal school choice is worth it, no matter the cost. It's something Florida has worked toward for more than 25 years.

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SHARYN KERWIN: Throughout Grace's K-12 journey, our family utilized¹¹ a variety of school choice options, including hospital homebound schooling¹².

HATTER: That's Sharyn Kerwin, a Tallahassee mom who has used school choice for her daughter, who has a medical condition. She recently testified at a committee hearing.

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KERWIN: Grace is now a thriving freshman¹³ at Lee University. Without flexible education options, this would not have been possible.

HATTER: The state is banking¹⁴ on the idea that not every private school or homeschool family will want to access the funding and that others will likely choose to stay put in their public, traditional and charter schools. So getting an exact number for an estimate has been a challenge.

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SUE WOLTANSKI: It's nonsensical to believe that half of the families currently paying to send their children to these private schools will not apply to get the free money. Of course, they will.

HATTER: Sue Woltanski is a Monroe County School Board member, She testified during a House committee hearing on the bill in February. Woltanski says she believes the $4 billion estimate put forward by the Florida Policy Institute is more in line with reality than what the legislature has put forward. The proposal has been panned by public school supporters who worry it will further drain resources as children leave those systems. But Senate bill sponsor Corey Simon has maintained his plan for universal choice keeps the focus on the kids and not the systems.

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COREY SIMON: If we were talking about spending $2 billion on public education right now, everybody would have their hands up and say, yes, yes, yes, I vote yes. What we are fighting over is funding a system instead of a student.

HATTER: And Simon says it should be about the students. Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill. For NPR News, I'm Lynn Hatter in Tallahassee.

1 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

13 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

14 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。