House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has spoken. The verdict is in. Our educational system is a complete “disaster.”

According to Gingrich, our nation’s schools have entered into a serious state of decline as a result of top-heavy bureaucracy and heavy restrictions on school choice. His solution: give every family an educational voucher which they can use to send their children to the school of their choice. Theoretically, this would give parents more direct say in the schooling of their children by forcing teachers and school administrators to compete for their loyalty. Those schools that offered the best learning environments, achieved the greatest results, and established themselves within the community would prosper, while those that failed to make the grade would be forced to improve or close down.

Such a system, if carefully devised to ensure viable options for all Americans, has the potential to be of great benefit. Unfortunately, the plan being touted by Gingrich and his GOP compatriots would seriously undermine public education.

Why? Because their plan:

(1) eliminates the Department of Education, thereby abandoning our national obligation to teach every student a critical core of skills and knowledge; (2) allows vouchers to be used as partial payment for private schooling, effectively subsidizing the wealthy at the expense of a majority of Americans who cannot afford private education; and (3) provides no special provisions for lower-income families, many of whom would need transportation assistance to truly be able to choose among the various schools offering their services.

These shortcomings are not surprising, given the recent pattern of right-wing proposals which have taken aim at public education and public services in general. Sadly, recent history has led most liberals and progressives to almost turn a deaf ear to the notion of school choice.

In reality, there is really nothing inherently “right-wing” about a school voucher system. Such a scheme could be a drastic improvement over our current system in which savage inequities plague the schools of many poor and minority districts.

So long as vouchers were of relatively equal value from one community to the next and were only valid for use within public schools, the quality of education for all Americans could be considerably enhanced. Of course, the Department of Education would still be needed to see that every school was offering at least a core curriculum of classes that everyone needs. Also, special help would be needed for low-income families who wish to send their children to schools within their district but may be at a considerable distance.

All in all, such a system would retain the central goal of providing education to every citizen while empowering parents to truly choose which schools they feel would serve their students best. Furthermore, since voucher-funded schools would be forced to be directly responsive to parents, communities would feel a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the education of their youth.

Aaron Lehmer is a continuing senior in environmental studies from Ames. He is the opinion page editor of the Daily.