South Carolina’s psychotic politicians continue to ignore the citizen’s desire for school choice:
As a legislator who believes in the great responsibility and duty of the state to help every child achieve a quality education, I could not agree more. Apparently, The News has seen (as I have) the broad support from every political persuasion for both the public school system as well as parental choice in education. Support for these two concepts is not mutually exclusive, as some would have you believe.
Choice is either choice or it isn’t. By cow-towing to the Government Education Lobby and the teacher’s unions, our representatives continue to offer solutions that are inconsistent with the implications of their titles (as in “Property Tax Relief” = “Tax increase”). The blind support of the government for the completely corrupt and ineffective debacle known as South Carolina Government Schools is truly inexplicable from the citizen’s viewpoint. The disconnect of our public officials is exposed again as they present to us “School Choice” that has nothing to do with choice, but the reaffirmation of support for a dysfunctional system, and the demonstration that South Carolina government has zero interest in the welfare of the citizens. Else, it would provide viable options for education.
The only way to salvage the government school system is to encourage increased competition. I speak not of competition among a subset of inferior and ineffectual government sponsored options, but of complete choice. School choice means that the government money presently paid per student per year should be released in a manner that would allow that money to follow the student while attending any school in the state.
Seeing that the state currently spends over $11,000 per student per year to produce what largely amounts to illiterate, fornicating, amoral dope heads, why not allow those funds to be put to good use? Many parents like the idea of private schooling (knowing that even the poorest private schools produce results that exceed the best government schools), but feel restricted from that choice due to simple economics. By providing TRUE school choice, the people would be able to make sure their children got the best possible education for their children. The new competition would force government schools to improve else they would not survive.
Don’t fall for Dwight Loftis’ lies. Demand free market education in South Carolina!
GreenvilleOnline.com -Opinion-State’s public school students deserve to have choices - (11/24/2006)