The Pioneer Press editorial board did a nice job of saying how parents have an abundance of school choice — from open enrollment to charter schools and magnet schools — all NOT based on a parent’s ZIP code (“Steps forward in the argument for school choice,” Feb. 5). Minnesota led the way on choice, so it’s odd that the newspaper is now pushing for “tax credits” that merely take public money away from public schools and give it to private schools under the guise of “school choice.”

Voucher advocates don’t want to use the word, so they use “Opportunity Scholarships” or some other term. Why? One look at some of the voucher programs in this nation shows that taking public money and diverting it to private schools doesn’t increase the outcome for students. In Milwaukee, kids getting vouchers and attending private schools are doing the same as kids in Milwaukee Public Schools (Milwaukee Public Radio, 25 Years of Vouchers report, November 2014). At the same time, $150 million per year was taken from Wisconsin public schools to pay for the voucher program. As of 2014, more than $1.7 billion was taken from public schools.

Louisiana’s voucher system, which requires all students to test, shows the results — once demographic factors are accounted for — that voucher students performed worse than public schools (The Public School Advantage, Lubienski, Christopher).

Private schools also have a tendency to pick the higher-achieving students from public schools, leaving public schools to educate students who need to learn English or students with learning difficulties — the students who need more financial support. What happens? The vouchers and “tax credits” draw away public money from public schools, while hurting the students with the most educational needs.

Minnesota has done a wonderful job of offering public-school choice without having to resort to vouchers and tax-credit tricks. The state of Minnesota should have a vested interest in strong public schools. Our system of public education is what has made our state great. To divert public money to fund religious and private schools will not improve educational outcomes for our children.

The Pioneer Press is quick to cite examples of business people who push free-market arguments. But schools should not be run like a business in a free market. It’s a false example.

Educational guru Jamie Vollmer makes a good argument why schools can’t be run like a business. It’s simple: Public schools take everyone who shows up at their doors. Unlike a business that could get rid of poor-performing students or special-education students to increase their proficiency, public schools accept everyone. Public schools are there for kids learning English, for kids with disabilities, for kids of all races and learning abilities. Is it expensive to do that? Yes. Would we rather operate schools like a private business and not educate those students who don’t hit our “proficiency bar”? It may make business sense, but we hope that is never the mindset for our kids.

Public schools should NOT determine who is admitted like a private business can. It’s the beauty of our public school system. We urge legislators and people wanting to help students to focus on adequate, equitable and predictable funding through the general education formula, special education and equalization funding formulas. Our state has many choices for students and doesn’t need to hurt public schools by going after the false promises of vouchers and tax credits. Our state’s leaders should work to improve, not weaken, our state’s public schools and its 850,000 students.

Kirk Schneidawind is executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association.