Yes, I am a public school superintendent, but I have never opposed school choice, be it charters or vouchers. I firmly believe locally controlled public schools – schools truly in the hands of parents and local educators – can compete with any other structure, no matter how epic. As our state barrels toward vouchers, however, I wonder if we have learned from the epic nightmare that allowed millions of Oklahoma tax dollars to be secreted away by an online virtual charter school. If that stuff happened in your local school, it would be an open-and-shut case.
I do not fear school choice, because frankly, the traditional educational establishment has alienated ourselves from parents and educators at the local level in recent years. People wonder why educators do not show up at the polls, and I suspect it is because we have allowed radical national voices to shape our message in Oklahoma. Oklahoma parents and educators are not radicals. In such an environment, I cannot dismiss parents’ legitimate concerns and demands for more options.
Unfortunately, the radical alternative paints all public schools as evil places. And likewise, few local parents see their community schools as evil (it’s those other schools), and they do not wish to see their local funds disappear into some epic sinkhole. Local parents and educators want the same thing: Safe, Caring, Healthy, Open, Orderly Learning Spaces where kids can learn (S.C.H.O.O.L.S.). As long as we continue to allow Marxists or Crony Capitalists to sanction our options, however, your local community schools will continue to be either overregulated and bureaucratized or systematically dismantled and sold to the highest bidders. I don’t believe this is the school choice parents envision, either.
Hopefully, our state’s epic journey has taught us that rules for the politically connected and powerful, on either side of the aisle, should be the same. If that is the case, public schools can compete with anyone. That’s why Public Money, Public Rules must apply to vouchers. This cuts both ways. If the rules are good enough for public schools, they should be good enough for voucher funds poured into private and for-profit schools. Conversely, if the rules are not reasonable for private or for-profit schools, they should not be applied to public schools. I have never encountered a single educator who opposes this logic, for the current rules are killing neighborhood schools. Likewise, I have never encountered a single private school educator willing to deal with all our rules, tons of cash notwithstanding.
I realize that there is nothing more dangerous than asking questions nowadays, but Oklahomans might consider some as we move forward on vouchers. Will they report four, five, and six-year graduation cohort rates? Will they be penalized for drop-outs, even if they move to other states? Must their teachers and principals suffocate under the obsolete, time-wasting TLE Evaluation system? Will the salaries of ALL staff be reported publicly? Will their students take all of the irrelevant, state-mandated, federally-driven, Common-Core Friendly standardized tests? Will they pick-and-choose which kids they enroll? Will they receive A-F scores? If voucher students don’t “fit,” will these “other kids” be sent packing to their home school district? (As it currently happens.) Will they return the remaining funds to the home school? (This currently does not happen.) Will they pay their teachers according to the minimum salary? Who will track and ensure the money has been spent appropriately? How do we avoid thousands of tiny little scandals that could easily create an even more epic disaster for Oklahoma?
Here’s a suggestion: let’s just pattern the new voucher system after the medical marijuana laws. Let’s invite out-of-state or foreign bad actors to milk the state for all its worth and damage rural communities. When it becomes a political liability, we can courageously and slowly fix those laws to protect Oklahomans. We could even throw some drug money at the schools (for the kids!). Wait a minute, this all sounds strangely familiar. Perhaps, the real question: Is this some sort of epic template?
Tom Deighan is superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. You may email him at deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com
