School choice should be a national mandate. While several states have elected to participate in school choice, sadly there are many states that continue to enforce a dictatorship rule over education. They often bow down to the teachers union, which heavily contribute to the campaigns of the elected politicians.
The best way we can ensure our students have an opportunity for gainful education, to ensure that work agendas are not pushed in the classroom, to ensure that our students are offered coursework that will improve their chances for success, then school choice must be a national mandate.
Parents and student should be able to chose where they go to school. Creating options and competition will only force the public schools to strive for excellence instead of mediocracy.
Please help our children. They deserve options even when parents can’t afford private school.
Note. School choice in the same county you live in works. However, if the family wants to choose a public school in a county with a much higher property tax, there has to be a balancing. (Both counties have the same amount from the state per student. The county or metro area add additional from property tax per student). For example County A has $11,000 per student. The school the student wants to attend is in county B which has $16,000 per student from higher property taxes. There is a $5,000 difference. How is that made up? School within the same county fine. But, I’m not sure how it would work when the school (public or private) has a higher cost per student. In our area, the family of the student makes up the difference. If going to a private school, it would be the parents making up the difference between the amount allocated per student (state, county & city total) and the tuition costs. In TN that is the major challenge. No transportation is provided to the alternate choice. I like the idea of school choice. But, I don’t want to punish school districts that have higher taxes to fund their schools to be overwhelmed with students from areas with very low property taxes. Need a fair & equatable solution.
In CA it’s very different. ADA is paid for the year prior. So if they have 200 students at one school last year, and increases to 250 next year, then they’ll still have to cover the cost of those additional students. That’s why our districts are supposed to save money.
Schools in the same county have different access to funds bc it’s not divided out by county; instead, it’s awarded by district. Each district has the ability to apply for additional funding for various reasons. They can apply for both federal and state grants. Schools that serve “underserved” students get more funding than the schools in nice areas.
Also, many schools have booster clubs and PTAs. Those specific funds are given directly to the school and usually allocated around a specific project or goal. Plus, scholarships are available at private schools as well.
If money traveled with the student to whatever school they would like attend, if there’s a remaining balance for the cost of tuition, then it would at least make it easier for the parents to pay for that child to attend that school.
All of this is a very fancy way of saying that there will still be funding problems. However, if parents/students have more options available to them, then the schools must compete harder to retain enrollment.
Competition will force the schools to strive for academic excellence and successful outcomes for students. The woke schools with teachers focused on indoctrination will either fail or reform. We should all want that for our children. They deserve the best education, safe education, and higher standards for their educators.