Squealin' Like a (Voucher) Pig Under a Gate

   Voucher wolves, voucher vultures, or voucher hogs - they are names that have been used interchangeably for the same group of school voucher supporters... those out-of-state corporate school management firms who want our public school tax dollars. Just as "feral hogs" have multiplied rapidly and damaged our local farm and ranch land, voucher hogs are also multiplying at an unprecedented rate and threatening our public school funding and taxpayer dollars. Voucher hogs have many in-state employees - those state senators and representatives who have accepted pay checks (donations) in order to direct precious public school funding to them. They have been "squealin' like a pig under a gate" to their Senate and House friends for more and more public tax dollars... all year.
   Those who may be squeamish to what feral hogs are capable of should stop reading at this point, as I'll relate a personal incident of feral hog behavior. We've all heard about how hogs will eat anything they can fit in their mouths, including baby deer, calves, and other indigenous wildlife. As I searched for a cow and calf this past weekend down on my Rush Creek ranch, I came upon a brush covered area that had evidently been used as a hog buffet. No, the non-local feral hogs had not consumed my cow and calf - but had feasted on other indigenous species, several unfortunate baby armadillos. The shells were lined up and cleaned out, just like watermelon halves.
   Many public school supporters believe voucher hogs use the same MO as real feral hogs. The latest attempt to create a buffet for them is House Bill 1459, the special school voucher bill. It expands the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship (vouchers) to students prior to enrollment in second grade who have been "...identified as eligible...," but with no requirement that these students ever have attended any public school or been placed on an Individual Education Plan. House Bill 1459 will greatly expand eligibility for the LNHS vouchers, funneling taxpayer dollars away from Oklahoma public schools at a time when schools are already struggling to make ends meet. In addition, the LNHS voucher program has experienced tremendous growth in the last five years and will siphon more than $3.6 million in legislative vouchers this school year. What grunts like a feral hog, probably is one, and what smells like a voucher hog... probably is one. Voucher proponents are currently setting the taxpayer buffet, and preparing to "clean-up" taxpayer dollars...