Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Education Reforms Statewide -- Wisconsin the Big Winner


Fox Business reporter and libertarian columnist John Stossel identified the biggest frustration to  outreach, reform, and innovation in our public schools. Facetiously termed “The Blob”, the collective inertia of the teachers unions, clerical and classified staff associations (janitors, secretaries, and administrators), plus the bureaucratic lethargy of school boards and district administration frustrate educational reform in every way, shape, and form. Thus, a formless mass of standardized testing, low-expectations, and negligible oversight remain the norm in public education.

Despite the negative press for one association of charter schools (Indian Charter Schools in Oakland, CA), school choice and educational reform are winning major gains across the country. The Indiana state supreme court just upheld the statewide voucher program enacted by former Governor Mitch Daniels. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam wants to expand school choice into statewide school districts. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is pushing the “Opportunity Scholarship Act” to create a voucher program. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval wants to offer tax credits to businesses which subsidize private education for youth forced to attend struggling schools.

Nevertheless, the greatest record of public education reform belongs to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Public education unions can no longer withdraw dues directly from employees’ pay checks. They can only negotiate salaries, and they must offer employees the choice of leaving their union every year. Coupled with his voucher expansion proposals, Walker’s public sector collective bargaining reforms have forced “The Blob” to form in line with the interests of students and parents, not nebulous, dubious special interests.

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