EDUCATION REFORM?

According to a 12/19/01 article in the Times Union, public schools have finally been reformed. It is a “Sweeping school pact”, “the most comprehensive reform of federal education programs since the Great Society”.

Wow! It must be really big! I read on.

It provides $26.5 billion dollars with New York City schools getting $176 million alone. There is a catch though. The schools will have to test some of the students, and if the test scores are low, the schools will get more money. Now there’s a real incentive! The schools will have only “twelve years (commencing with 2005-2006 school year) to get all students reading and doing math proficiently, but could be given more time if they show progress”. WHEW! Talk about pressure!

Lets look at some starkly real numbers. The Albany City school district just won approval to spend almost $176 million on their school buildings alone. Many other districts in the area have recently won local voter approval for building projects of $20 million, $50 million, even $100 million. Every time a public school district asks the local voters to approve a multimillion dollar project, they prompt a “yes” vote by suggesting that most of the money is going to come from “The State”. Of course voters don’t seem to realize, or care, that Albany taxpayers will be funding projects for each and every other school district statewide that sells their local taxpayers on the same concept.

There are over 710 school districts in New York. Every district can easily get local voters to approve one shot $100 million projects. If that happened, the cost to New York taxpayers would be $71 billion dollars for one-time projects to refurbish New York’s public school buildings. That’s above and beyond the tens of billions in annual operating expenses. Given the fact that the federal government plans to spend $26.5 billion across the entire nation over a several year period, it’s hard to understand how anyone who thinks money is the answer could get excited about it. It will not satisfy the education establishment because they are followers of “Demand Side” economic doctrine. In fact, no amount of money ever will.

Several years ago the Kansas City School District spent over $1 billion without showing any significant increase in student performance. You see, money is not the problem. The problem is the system. It’s a monopoly with costs that increase by default. It rewards failure and ignores or even punishes achievement

It’s time for all you hardened Liberals out there to realize that America’s greatest asset is freedom. It’s time to establish a “Supply Side” economic model for public education in which competition effortlessly reduces costs while increasing performance. It’s time that parents be returned the independence to choose what is best for their children.

If you really think throwing money at the problem is the answer, try this. Give $1 million to each of 176 students in Albany. If it were put to a vote, it would pass. Make 176 new millionaires overnight. Then do the same thing statewide. We would have 50 new young millionaires in Troy, another 100 in Averill Park, about 75 in East Greenbush. I could go on but you get the picture, right?

For the rest, put $12,000 (the annual per pupil cost) into an interest bearing account every year for 12 years. They would all be millionaires before their 20-year high school reunion. If you think education (at least what they call an education) is expensive…you’re right. It costs you your freedom and your future.

School Choice is the only answer. Freedom of choice is the American way.

David R. Crawmer