Call Patrick Fitzgerald. We've got a mole in the Government Accountability Office, an anti-voucher mole at that. The Washington Post this week reported on a leaked draft GAO evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which is spending $12.9 million annually to send 1,900 low-income students to private schools. The draft report charges that some of these private schools lack occupancy permits, are not fully certified, or have falsely reported having a gymnasium or an auditorium. Such findings seem flimsy and one-sided, especially considering that parents are satisfied (see here and here) with the program. Worse, however, is the fact that an early, unvetted draft has found its way to the Post's pages. A spokeswoman from the Department of Education, which oversees the program, says the draft "presents an incomplete picture," and that the final version will contain a number of revisions. Unfortunately for the District's scholarship recipients, a lot of damage has already been done.
"Voucher Program Puts D.C. Kids at Risk, Study Says," by Theola Labbé, Washington Post, October 11, 2007