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As stated numbers of times in these columns, competition has
given us good quality products like cell phones, computers and automobiles at
increasingly reasonable prices, and it will do the same thing for our
schools. To solidify this point,
EdChoice recently published some statistics about public schools in West
Virginia. Even after being adjusted for
inflation, spending was increased by 39 percent between 1992 and 2014, by which
time the schools were spending an average of about $12,512 per student. But during this 23-year period the salaries
per teacher actually fell by 3 percent. How was this possible? Because, like public schools virtually
everywhere else, West Virginia public schools increased their staffing of
non-teachers by ten percent: from 17,533 to 20,029 – and this happened even
though they were teaching almost 40,000 fewer students! In other words, much more money was spent on
administration than on the students. And
that problem is compounded because teachers know that the higher paid jobs are
in administration. So the better
teachers are “elevated” out of the classroom and into administrative positions. In comparison, private schools, and other
private businesses, put more of their resources into directly serving their
customers which, in this case, is their students. That is the nature of competition.
So how can we help to make schools more
competitive? By empowering the parents
to choose where the government money will be spent for the education of their
children. That approach has been working
for years in places like Milwaukee, and is also beginning to work in Indiana,
Florida and New Orleans. Furthermore,
since there is more of a demand for good teachers in a competitive system, they
are more highly paid. So good teachers
also come out ahead. Bottom line: if we
want to provide excellence in education for our children, give their parents the
Liberty to have a choice. It doesn’t
matter whether the programs are called scholarships, coupons or vouchers, school
choice brings competition, and that, in turn, will bring excellence. (For more information, go to www.EdChoice.org.)
Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)
2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President,
along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President
Quote
of the week: Attorney to his client: “I agree.
It’s slander and an insult and an outrage. But I see their point.”
By
the way, these columns are now on Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray,
Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray@wordpress.com.
Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word
about the importance of Liberty!
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