Public education isn't a business
During my 39 years of teaching in a public school, I have gotten to know and had the privilege of teaching many distinct, caring, and motivated individuals who have gone on to have fulfilling and productive lives. They have become pillars of their communities. They have become doctors, nurses, teachers, mechanics, clerks, lawyers, military officers, athletes, bankers, custodians, loving mothers and fathers, and much more.
But the one thing that they all had in common-the one thing that all students of Lincoln County High School share: They had the benefit and opportunity of a quality public education in rural Montana.
However, as the state Legislature becomes more involved in debating proposed bills, it becomes apparent that the powers that be want to change this sound public education into a business. Yes, operate public schools like a business. Whereas business is a noble trade for their efficiency and innovation, they are not suited as a model for public education. And the advocates of free enterprise in education are promoting nothing more than “crony” capitalism: a freedom to engage in a business of their choice on the Montana taxpayer’s dime. The reason that the business model is not valid for public schools is quite simple.
Public schools cannot compete or choose the students they educate. Our schools are required to take all students from the academically gifted to those with severe disabilities. The students that come from wealthy homes to those who are homeless or living on their own. Students that don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from to the students who start school and go to bed hungry. We have students who are ethnically, spiritually, and racially diverse. I have found that nowhere is our American society on display more than in the public school. We teach them all!
Our schools are the vibrant social fabric that make up our rural communities. The powers that be propose we use public tax dollars (vouchers) to fund nonpublic schools. These schools don’t have to offer specialized education for students that need extra help. They don’t have to offer food programs to students that are hungry. They also don’t have to provide transportation to students that live far distances away. They are not set up to meet the needs of the poor. Charter schools are not dedicated to providing an education to ALL — just the ones that can afford it.
Applying this economic model to rural Montana would be the death knell of public education in our state because more tax dollars to private/charter schools means less tax dollars to public schools. I wonder how many of the doctors, lawyers, nurses, mechanics, and teachers I have taught could have afforded a private school? My guess is very few, if any.
Unquestionable faith in the free market system for public schools is NOT a good idea. It is bad economics, it is bad policy and it is bad educational practice. Sometimes government does provide vital services to the health of our communities, like offering an education to every child. —David R. James, Eureka