Invest in public schools | Matt Wyatt

Diana Ravitch wrote, “American Education has a long history of infatuation with fads and ill-considered ideas. The current obsession with making our schools work like a business may be the worst of them, for it threatens to destroy public education. Who will stand up to the tycoons and politicians and tell them so?”

Ravich was Assistant Secretary of Education in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

You will be hearing a lot of talk about charter schools over the course of the next two months when our General Assembly convenes. Governor Matt Bevin and the new Republican majority in the House have indicated that they are going to do everything that they can to pass charter school legislation. Kentucky remains one of seven states which does not permit the privatization of public education (i.e., charter schools).

On December 19th, 2016, the Elizabethtown Independent Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution stating our opposition to charter schools in Kentucky. We were the first Board of Education in Kentucky to pass such a resolution. Our opposition is based on 25 years’ worth of data which confirms that when the privatization of public education is allowed in a state, public schools suffer, taxpayers are swindled and students are often left worse off.

What are charter schools? Charter schools are privately managed, taxpayer-funded schools which are legislatively exempt from many of the rules applicable to all other publicly-funded schools. The main argument initially offered for creating charter schools was a desire to create flexibility for innovation within public education. The results have shown that charter schools hire less qualified teachers, are often subject to unexpected closures when the profits dry up and are ripe with fraud and abuse due to the lack of public oversight and accountability. A recent study has shown that over $200 million taxpayer dollars have been stolen from charter schools over the last year. That was one year and only covering 15 states and include both private and “not-for-profit” charter schools.

Are “public charter schools” actually public schools? The term “public charter school” was developed by a PR firm to reframe the way we understand schooling in relationship to “public funding.” Language and marketing are important when you have a debate, and the pro-charter schools, groups know this. It’s similar to how the inheritance tax all of the sudden became the “death tax.” Corporate interests utilize marketing strategies in politics much better than the rest of us even realize in order to gain support and calm fears.

Kentucky public schools have an elected school board. Charter schools have an authorizer who appoints a board. Often charter boards are run by executive boards, management companies, Universities, committees or corporations whose members may live outside the community in which they are located and are not accountable to parents and taxpayers.

Kentucky’s solution for better student performance must not be to open the doors of publicly-funded education to management companies or, worse, profiteers who claim they can “run things better” if only they have fewer pesky rules and less accountability. How did that work for Wall Street?

If legislators believe the current rules governing public schools are hindering school performance, perhaps the Kentucky legislature would better serve our students by eliminating those pesky rules and restrictions that are overly burdensome and ineffective so that our public schools can better succeed?

Conversely, if “innovation” is what is needed then look to the landmark legislation enacted in 2012 (House Bill 37), which says that every district in Kentucky has the opportunity to apply to the Kentucky Department of Education to become a District of Innovation. The legislation, which was modeled after charter school laws in other states, promised districts relief from a number of regulatory and legislative barriers in exchange for an innovative proposal to reimagine teaching and learning. Kentucky now has ten Districts of Innovation which are public schools under the control and direction of their local school boards which are accountable to the taxpayers whom they serve.

Public institutions are the engines of our democracy. Their purpose is to promote and preserve the fundamental values of a democratic society. We do not privatize our city or county police forces or our fire protection, nor should we do so with our public schools. Public schools are held accountable to elected citizens, and the very taxpayers who fund them, while charter schools violate the idea of local control and accountability.

Parents who send their children to poorly performing public schools understandably want more to be done. All parents want what is best for their kids. And taxpayers don’t want to throw their money into a system that doesn’t work. The answer is not to cripple public schools, the answer is to dig in and help them

Kentucky has come a long way over the past 25 years.

In fact, Kentucky is the example that other states want to follow in making sure all of our students are college and career-ready. Governor Bevin and our legislators are already facilitating dual-credit initiatives and apprenticeship programs to promote improved outcomes for our public-school students. We should never be satisfied with where we are; we should always push to improve and not rest until every educational gap is closed and every child has an even playing field. Moreover, against great odds and fewer resources, Kentucky school districts are doing just that.

As a point of personal privilege, I am proud of my own Elizabethtown district in its efforts to increase college readiness and close the achievement gap.

I envision a Commonwealth where we are giving our public schools every resource and tool that they need to succeed. I envision a Commonwealth where our public-school educators are valued, our parents are more involved, and our students are ready to compete with anyone in the world. That vision cannot exist in an atmosphere where already limited public funding for our schools is squirreled away for corporate management companies to the detriment of our existing schools.

However, my vision can be a reality if we commit to making the investments in our schools that are needed to succeed.

Matt Wyatt is Chairman of the Elizabethtown Independent Board of Education