"Public Schools Are the Glue that Hold Neighborhoods Together" (Inquirer piece by Sen. Leach)

[JPZenger]

http://articles.philly.com/2013-06-20/news/40095832_1_public-schools-many-charters-charter-schools

Excerpt:

"I have seen firsthand the dedication of the teachers and administrators of our public schools, but their historical value goes well beyond what they did for me or any other individual child. I learned quite early that public schools are the glue that holds a neighborhood together. Because traditional public schools draw their students from a defined geographical area, the schools become the focus of neighborhood activity. They are the team we cheer for, the landmark that becomes the shorthand for our place in the city and the place parents gather to meet each other. Through the subtle osmosis of such meetings, there occurs a transformation turning a random collection of individual families into a community.

...Under current law, charters are not required to hire certified teachers, who we know have acquired the education and training to make them great at what they do. Many charters are for-profit, and studies have shown that they spend, on average, about 20 percent less of their budgets in the classroom than do public schools, instead using taxpayer dollars to turn a profit for their owners. Unlike public schools, which are run by elected officials held accountable by the taxpayers, charters are generally run by private boards of directors who are not accountable to the people who pay the bills.

... Philadelphia public schools are not perfect. But many of their problems are caused by the Corbett administration's steely determination not to fund them adequately. The latest budget is truly apocalyptic. If your house needs repair, the answer is to invest in repairing your house. It is not to build a second, separate house. Reasonable state funding could easily restore to the Philadelphia public schools the respect they have historically enjoyed."

[CrispyQ]

1. This is the issue with privatization in a nutshell:

Unlike public schools, which are run by elected officials held accountable by the taxpayers, charters are generally run by private boards of directors who are not accountable to the people who pay the bills.

When are Americans going to wake up to the bullshit that is privatization? Here's what I think happened. Americans got complacent & stopped paying attention to government. When they found out the government was paying $600 for a toilet seat, they were outraged & willing to swallow the line that private industry could do everything better & cheaper. In their outrage, they forgot that we don't get to vote for who's on the Board. At least in government the People can vote the bastards out. Also, when you add a profit motive, everything changes.

WE DON'T HAVE A DEMOCRACY, WE HAVE AN AUCTION.

They have been auctioning off our Commons, at great benefit to themselves.

[ladjf]

2. This idea makes way too much since. It will never catch on with our ignorant voters. nt

[JPZenger]

3. There are some attempts to break up Phil. School District and make everything a charter school

That was proposed earlier this year for the York City PA School District

[ladjf]

4. Well, there you go. That idea is so bad, the public will support it. nt