Don’t Bet the Mission on the Money: Why Private Schools Should Be Wary of Voucher and Scholarship Dependence

It’s easy to see why schools get wide-eyed about government-sponsored voucher and scholarship programs.

They seem like the answer to every challenge: helping families afford tuition, increasing enrollment, and creating more financial stability. The promise is enticing—public money with (supposedly) no strings attached.

But recent events have once again reminded us how fragile that hope really is.

Just this year, two states that had either rolled out or promised expanded scholarship (or voucher) programs have abruptly backtracked or delayed them. That left schools who had budgeted around those funds scrambling for alternatives. In some cases, they had already enrolled students or signed contracts assuming that money would be there.

It’s disappointing. It’s also revealing.

While the desire to serve more families is admirable, building a model around funding you don’t control isn’t sound planning—it’s gambling short-term gain against long-term risk.

We’re not saying schools have placed their faith in these programs. But let’s be honest—many have begun to lean heavily on them. And when enough families come through the door because of government-backed tuition help, it is easy to start assuming that stream will always flow.

That’s not strategy. That’s wishful thinking.

Scripture doesn’t condemn planning— it urges it.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5)

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost…?” (Luke 14:28)

We’re called to plan carefully, lead wisely, and steward responsibly. That includes asking hard questions before aligning your school’s future to dollars that come from volatile political systems.

We’re not saying schools have placed their faith in these programs. But let’s be honest—many have begun to lean heavily on them.

When the funds vanish or get restructured—and they often do—it doesn’t just disrupt your budget. It disrupts your integrity, your operations, and potentially your mission.

It’s Not Just About the Money

Here’s the other danger few want to talk about: government programs may start with minimal conditions, but the rules have a tendency to grow over time. Today it’s just a form. Tomorrow it’s a curriculum review. Then it’s a staff requirement or a nondiscrimination clause that doesn’t align with your statement of faith.

The shift is usually slow and subtle.

But the cost is real.

And it’s often the distinctiveness of your school that ends up compromised.

When a school becomes reliant on an external funding source, it often becomes reluctant to challenge it—even when it should. What starts as a financial decision slowly becomes a philosophical one.

A Better, Bolder Way

None of this means we shouldn’t want to help families access Christian or private education. We should. But it means we must build a model that can stand without state intervention.

That means:

• Funding through relationships, not entitlements.

• Crafting tuition structures that reflect real family need.

• Maintaining firm conviction that mission must never be for sale.

The temptation to “scale with subsidies” is real—but so is the fallout when those subsidies evaporate.

Let’s build differently.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

Our calling is to plan well, hold our convictions, and trust the outcome to God—not to temporary programs, shifting budgets, or political tides.

Because at the end of the day, schools built on truth will still stand, even when the money disappears.

And that’s the kind of school worth building.

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 ​Authored by Clint Holden 

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