Trump's school privatization tax-credit voucher is flying under the radar

Shock me that Texas has opted in to this system, that like the current state voucher system, won't directly fund private schools but will instead fund a disbursement system.

There's plenty of room for grift, it should be obvious. That's on top of the grift that Strangeabbott's voucher system already incentivizes.

Then, per the story, there's the question about how declining enrollment will damage public schools. This is the crux of the potential problem: 

At the school-district level, however, the potential budget damage could be severe. Every student who leaves their local public school to take a subsidized private education will take their state funding away with them. School budgets are cumbersome to change, with many fixed costs, such as buildings and personnel. Even if the number of students at public schools drops suddenly due to Trump’s private school subsidy—along with the funding that accompanies them—it will take time for schools’ financial liabilities to go down accordingly. Principals and teachers get the same salary whether their school has 500 students or 300; buses cost the same whether they transport 100 students or 50; furnaces cost the same whether they warm 1,000 students or 300.

And, here in Tex-ass, that's Katy bar the door time for a TEA takeover. (The article is way out of date on staunch conservatives opposing state level vouchers, linking to a 2023 Trib piece.) The author is correct that rural schools will be hardest hit by this, as with the state voucher system.

NOT mentioned by Slate is another potential problem. What if a lot of people opt for the Trump voucher system but not a lot of new kids go to private schools? That's a lot of money washing around these distribution companies. Plenty of chance for yet more grifting and corruption.