Indiana Catholic Voucher Schools used $300 of Taxpayer Money to Reward Those Referring Students.

Big surprise, yet another “innovative” private voucher school group found a way to spend taxpayer money padding their bottom line. I’ve said it before; creating parallel school systems only complicates educational reform. Who can watchdog this convoluted “solution?”

Not one responsible adult in the Catholic Schools administrative office saw a problem with the scheme?

WSBT: A full-page advertisement appeared in St. Jude Catholic Parish’s bulletin recently, pitching a $300 incentive bonus that’s available for referring students to St. Jude School in South Bend. The ad — and its potential implications — caused some discord at South Bend Community School Corp.’s meeting Monday evening when Bill Sniadecki, the board’s vice president, said he feels such an incentive policy is unethical for a school that now accepts state vouchers.

“That (state tuition) money is supposed to be going to kids’ education,” he later said, “not some outside individual to recruit kids.”

Apparently school officials didn’t have a problem spending taxpayer money, instead of their own, on the incentive offer:

Mark Myers, superintendent of Catholic Schools, said the practice of offering referral incentives has been in place for five years, long before the voucher program began. But in light of the concerns, that policy is now suspended, he said. “We’re going to review all marketing strategies,” Myers said.

Keep it up Indiana, the nation can’t take its eyes off the accident that is; the privatization of education.