For the public good.
(The following article was written by William Phillis, Ohio E and A.)
Public common schools are fundamental to the public good - market-driven charters have a different end game
The recent exposure of the tip of the iceberg of charter industry financial fraud, nepotism, education malpractice and dismal education outcomes has goaded state officials into a window display of charter "reform." Two separate bills, House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 148, and the budget bill, as introduced, provide a modicum of charter reform proposals. Some legislators are committed to meaningful reform; others are merely giving lip service. Unfortunately, the for-profit charter industry is in control of the legislative charter "reform" agenda.
The worst of the worst in charterland will most likely not be touched by the current legislative "reform" efforts. The for-profit charter industry demands deregulation in lieu of oversight, accountability and transparency. It hires well-connected lobbyists to insure that state governments and the federal government do not regulate the charter industry. Deregulation of tax-supported charters invites unconscionable mischief.
The bottom line of this sector of the charter industry is profit - not quality educational opportunities for all students.
Fraud against taxpayers and deficient education results aside, the compelling issue regarding the charters (and vouchers) goes directly to the soul of America. The ongoing privatization of the public common school dramatically affects every facet of American life. Will America maintain its traditional democracy, its emphasis on the common good or will it wander into the Wild, Wild West wilderness of segregation, tribalism and unmitigated individualism?
Political decisions regarding the charter industry will vastly affect the future of American democracy. This most serious matter should bolt civic-minded citizens from apathy to action.
A bit of history regarding the civic efficacy of the public common school is warranted. In the 1863 Tenth Annual Report of the State Commissioner of Common Schools, Commissioner E.E. White stated on page 17, "Our common school system is based upon the great principle that the success and perpetuity of free institutions rest, in the final issue, upon the moral and intellectual elevation of the citizen. Under a free constitution, ignorance, even in the humblest citizen, is a source of national weakness." "The neglect of this duty is national suicide." "That child to whom the highest duties of citizenship are soon to be entrusted has a right to be instructed and the State a vital interest in that right's not being violated."
On page 19 White stated, regarding neglect of parents to send their kids to school on a regular basis - "I am prepared also to state that it is my firm conviction that this great evil not only concerns every true friend of his country but that it clearly falls within the province of the legislator and the statesman. The civil power must soon interpose in behalf of childhood and the well-being and security of society. The rights of parents, when unforfeited, are indeed sacred; but the duty of rescuing childhood from ruin is imperious. I am aware that the first civic truth is the liberty and the power of the citizen, but the second is the supreme necessity of the state to protect the weak. The liberty of the individual is always subordinate to the safety of society."
Slipshod political fiddling with the public common school system has earthshaking consequences for this nation.