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Fixing what is not broken
By:
Mr. Jim Waters
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is wise counsel for old lawn mowers, long
marriages and successful school-choice policies.
Since 1978, the Calloway County and Murray Independent school systems have
allowed parents to choose which district their children attend. But the Calloway
County School Board now wants to take away parents’ educational freedom.
Parents understandably oppose the change.
“I have a conviction in my heart that this is right for my children,” said Sandy
Morgan, a Calloway County resident who sends her children to Murray. “And I have
friends who send their children to the county schools. They also want that
choice.”
Calloway administrators argue that the current school-choice policy is
unbalanced and costly because a majority of transfers live in the county
district but choose to attend Murray schools. Of the 674 current transfers, 433
students live in the county school district and attend Murray.
Calloway officials’ idea of “balance” seems to be to restrict the number of
students transferring to Murray to the same number as choose to attend the
county schools but who reside in the city. Yet this proposal would eliminate the
educational freedom of more than 150 current transfer students and those who
will want this same option in the future.
Calloway officials’ idea of balance is reminiscent of a mythical story about
Procrustes, a petty king who ruled a little Greek province near Athens.
Procrustes believed himself to be the perfect man. He believed he had the
perfect height and width; in every way, he was just right. And he had a bed
built to fit him exactly.
Then he required all of his subjects to lie on his bed for measurement. Those
who were too long for the bed were lopped off; those too short were stretched –
until everybody fit the king’s bed. Procrustes’ policy may have been balanced,
but it wasn’t in the best interest of his subjects!
Which is more important: An administrator’s Procrustean idea of balance or the
desire of parents to select the school they feel best suits the needs of their
children? Academic performance has greatly improved with a system of
competition. Isn’t this an indication that the present “open enrollment” policy
is working?
“If it ain’t broke, don’t break it,” said John Mitchell, who is president and
chief operating officer of Pella’s Advanced Materials Division, which opened an
operation in Murray in 2003.
While the smaller Murray district has always been known for its academic
strength, Calloway County schools in recent years have dramatically improved.
Calloway has reduced the gap in ACT scores between itself and Murray from 1.5
points in 2000 to .3 point in 2003. It has also narrowed the gap in Commonwealth
Accountability Testing System (CATS) Accountability Index scores from more than
10 points in 1999 to about six points in 2004.
The gap in the percentage of students attending college also is tightening. In
2001, 85 percent of Murray’s graduates attended college compared with less than
55 percent of Calloway grads. Yet by 2003, there was only about a 14-percent
difference.
Some Calloway administrators point to these improvements as proof that both
systems are doing well and that parents no longer need an alternative. Actually,
such improvement is a strong confirmation that educational freedom has
successfully motivated the Calloway district to improve its performance.
Competition is needed to insure that Calloway continues to improve and that
parents of both districts always have a choice – just in case one school system
drifts toward mediocrity. At the center of this struggle is the American
principle of choice. We get to choose between alternatives in virtually
everything we do or buy. Competition pits suppliers of our goods and services in
a never-ending struggle to satisfy our needs. This is the market force that
delivers better quality and higher satisfaction.
This battle for parental choice in education between the Murray and Calloway
County school systems pits the needs of parents against the whims of education
administrators. When parents are denied the ability to choose the better of two
alternatives, both school systems suffer. With choice, improvements abound.
The current school-choice policy has also contributed to re-invigorating the
community’s economy. Mitchell said his company’s decision to locate in Murray
last year – which has provided more than 600 jobs for the community – was
“without a doubt” influenced by the educational freedom enjoyed by parents.
He says that compelling school districts to vie for students and the dollars
that follow them is a more effective motivation than just throwing more money at
the problems.
“It’s pressure to improve,” Mitchell said. “It’s the free-enterprise system at
work.”
-- Jim Waters is Director of Policy and Communications for the
Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions,
Kentucky’s free-market think tank.
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