美国国家公共电台 NPR--Kentucky's high court considers if tax dollars can be redirected to private schools

Kentucky's high court considers if tax dollars can be redirected to private schools

Transcript¹

Kentucky's Supreme² Court hears arguments Wednesday in a case that will decide whether the state can move forward with a program to send more than $100 million in tax dollars to private schools.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Kentucky's Supreme Court is considering a case today that will decide whether the state can redirect would-be tax dollars to private schools. It's a debate that once again pits advocates of privatizing schools against people worried about the underfunding of public education. Jess Clark of member station WFPL will be in the courtroom today. Hi, Jess. Good morning.

JESS CLARK, BYLINE³: Hello.

FADEL: So why don't we start with you just telling us more about this case. What's happening in the courtroom today?

CLARK: Sure. Well, many people have heard about school vouchers⁵. That's a program in which the state pays for certain families to attend private school...

FADEL: Right.

CLARK: ...The stated rationale being that lower-income families deserve the same access to private school as wealthier families. But school vouchers are actually not legal in Kentucky. The state constitution pretty explicitly⁶ forbids using tax dollars on nonpublic schools. So this case is about a program private-school advocates have created that is very similar to a voucher⁴ program but different enough, they say, that it doesn't violate the Constitution.

FADEL: OK. So before we get into details of what each side is arguing in court, give us the context here about what's at stake in this case and why people are so invested.

CLARK: Well, it gets back to a debate that's played out in many states about the value of privatizing K-12 education. Vouchers and tax credit scholarship programs are legal in many other states. Some states even have both - Indiana and Louisiana being two. And proponents⁷ of these programs often refer to themselves as being for, quote, "school choice," and they argue that all parents should have the right to opt⁸ out of the public school system just like wealthy families who can pay for private school.

On the other side, advocates of public education say a big reason parents even want to opt out is because, for decades, lawmakers have underfunded public schools. In Kentucky, for example, if you adjust for inflation, spending per student is still significantly lower than it was in 2008. So opponents are worried that this program will just further drain funds away from students and from public schools.

FADEL: So that's the bird's-eye view. Let's get into how this program in Kentucky would work and how advocates say it differs from vouchers.

CLARK: So this program is a tax credit scholarship fund - at the risk of putting listeners back to sleep because that sounds pretty dry, but stick with me (laughter). Here's how it works. First, people or corporations make a donation to a scholarship fund that is managed by a third party, and in return for the donation, the donor⁹ gets a tax credit of up to 97% of their contribution. So essentially¹⁰, these donors¹¹ contribute to a scholarship fund in lieu of paying state taxes. Then low- and middle-income families can apply to use the scholarship funds on educational expenses, including private-school tuition. And advocates of the tax credit program say because the money never actually enters state coffers, the state is not technically¹² funding these private schools, and the program is therefore legal.

FADEL: And what's the other side saying?

CLARK: Well, opponents say this program will take even more money out of the public school system and create a system of haves and have-nots. They call this program backdoor vouchers. And a lower court judge actually agreed with them, saying the mechanism¹³ for collecting the funds is irrelevant¹⁴ because the program ultimately amounts to state support for private schools. Advocates of the program appealed that decision, and that's why the court is hearing the case today.

FADEL: All right, and you will be in the courtroom. That's Jess Clark with WFPL. Thank you so much for your time and your reporting.

CLARK: Thank you.

1 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。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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）

6 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

8 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

9 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。