Comments on: AFT suggests LBO for Public Schools

By: matthewladner

matthewladner — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:49:52 +0000

I believe that public schools are a permanent feature of American K-12 education, but hopefully dysfunctional public schooling will not be.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:03:46 +0000

I’ve always thought auctioning off public schools and their property would be a great idea. Let them convert to private schools or charter schools or whatever the buyer wanted them to be.

We can do the sale in the summer months while the kids are on vacation and while the teachers are doing their required teacher courses that the unions themselves teach in exchange for more money from the state.

By: matthewladner

matthewladner — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:12:16 +0000

Interesting post Jeanne- I’m with you that some reform is better than none, but we need lots of it.

By: Jeanne Allen

Jeanne Allen — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:26:13 +0000

Luke, you surprise me. Leo could never join the force. There is no guarantee of tenure and it’s all based on merit!

While your take on Chicago is on point, check out ours at http://www.edspresso.com. With a potential Chicago appointment to Ed Secretary pending, there is much to ponder.

By: matthewladner

matthewladner — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:10:52 +0000

Oh, you mean like corrupt school board members selling principal jobs, right?

By: Jay P. Greene

Jay P. Greene — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:49:39 +0000

This is great. Actually, I think the appropriate analogy between education and Blagojevich would be if public school officials sold off grades or the furniture. The problem with what Blagojevich did is that he sold something that he didn’t own. The ability to appoint senators is a power he holds in trust from the voters. The voters own the power, not the elected officials. Similarly, teachers have the ability to assign grades in trust from whoever owns the school. It is not theirs to sell.

And this raises another point. Public schools are already being sold. Tax dollars buy everything at public schools. The problem is that the buyer of public school services is compelled to make that purchase. Supporters of choice simply want consumers to have the option to purchase services elsewhere if they prefer.