Pro-Public School Choice

By Cory L. Shreckengost

 Posted ~ May 8, 2003

Imagine a world where the government assigned your healthcare provider, without any regard to the quality of care actually provided.  Moreover, imagine that the only factor considered when determining your healthcare provider was your place of residence.

It would be absurd to think that such a scenario could exist in today's society.  But it does.  Only this virtual monopoly does not exist in healthcare.  It exists in education.  Under our state's public education system, most parents send their children to schools assigned by their district, irrespective of the quality of education provided.  This prescribed assignment of schools would seldom be an issue if it were not for a bona fide problem that pervades the Keystone state—faltering schools.

On January 8, 2002, President Bush recognized the need to mend the nation's unproductive schools by signing the No Child Left Behind(NCLB) Act.  This act addresses inadequacy in our schools by laying out basic requirements for education reform.  According to the 2002 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) test results, 884 Pennsylvania schools have failed to meet these requirements.

What can parents do if their children are caught in an unproductive school?

Children of more affluent families can pay private school tuition or simply move to another district with satisfactory schools.  The children of lower income families, however, cannot.  They are essentially held captive under our state's current public school system.

How can we ensure a quality education for the children of lower income families?  By giving parents a choice when it comes to education—even if this choice is limited to another public school.

In the past, some educators have voiced opposition to school choice because of fears that money could be diverted from public schools to private institutions.  Those with such fears should consider the option of public school choice.

Parents should be given alternatives.  If they believe that their public school is not providing an ample education, they should be allowed to choose another public school.  Under the NCLB Act, a child enrolled in a school described as "in need of improvement" could transfer to "better performing" public schools in adjoining districts.

Under a comprehensive public school choice plan, the overall quality of Pennsylvania education should increase.  Funding would follow the student to the chosen school.  Schools would compete for pupils, forcing them to offer a better education.

Instead of lethargically accepting a gradually deteriorating status quo, we must eliminate complacency and create a sense of urgency in our public schools.  A public school choice plan would do just that.

Spence Korté, a superintendent in the Milwaukee Public School system, addressed the indolence within our schools: "Like many other monopolistic operations, you get a little bit complacent when you're the only game in town...We need to be able to compete, to really get better, and to be more sensitive to what parents are telling us they need."  Milwaukee has already instituted a public school choice plan.  The results in Milwaukee—as well as many other districts around the nation which have instituted a public school choice program—have been encouraging.

Some may cringe at a marketplace mentality being associated with schools and claim that this approach will only cause disarray.  It is true that a free market mentality may bring some uncertainty, but ultimately, this uncertainty benefits students.

The concept of public school choice has been around for some time.  It has been supported by Democrats and Republicans alike.  Even President Bush's predecessor embraced the idea.  In his Call to Action for American Education in the 21st Century, President Bill Clinton proposed that "states and school districts should provide public school choice plans that give every parent the ability to choose their child's public school."

Governor Rendell also alluded to public school choice in his "Plan for a New Pennsylvania."  Rendell spoke of "the right for students to transfer to another public school."  It remains to be seen, however, how much flexibility parents would actually possess under this proposal.

In short, public school choice may be the necessary catalyst that propels Pennsylvania's schools into a new era of educational freedom and success.  Continuous improvement ought to be the underlying philosophy which drives and motivates our educators.  If a little competition and change are necessary to awaken our schools from their present stupor, then this change is a good thing; and as such, should be enthusiastically welcomed by our state's educators.

Cory Shreckengost is a policy analyst at the Shenango Institute for Public Policy, a Pennsylvania policy organization devoted to educational issues.  In addition to his role at the Shenango Institute, he also currently serves as an Associated Scholar with the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy.  For our most recent policy briefs on Pennsylvania privatization, state stores, education, and more, please visit www.shenangoinstitute.org