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Privatization will work well in
Indiana
by Kenn Gividen
Barely five months into his term in office, and Gov. Mitch Daniels has already
reneged on a key campaign promise. 'Buy Indiana," he said, and 'sell Indiana."
Daniels made a commitment to voters that their tax dollars would go to
Hoosier-based businesses. But the administration has signed a contract to send
$258 million to Philadelphia.
Now, I'm not complaining. The governor's decision to get the best deal for
Indiana taxpayers is a wise move. It's the campaign promise that was wrong.
Furthermore, Daniel's decision to privatize food services for the state's prison
system is also a wise move.
The recipient of our $258 million is Aramark Correctional Services. The contract
extends for ten years, even though state law only allows for a four-year
contract. The option is open to sign for the additional years.
The governor would be well advised to continue his move toward privatization of
government services. It's good for the state. Here's why.
-- Privatize Indiana's Prison System
By privatizing Indiana's prison system, the state would not only save taxpayers
millions of dollars -- about $5 per prisoner per day -- but would provide
quality service to the state's inmates. Besides the economic advantage, the
privatization of Indiana's prisons has proven to be a legally and politically
feasible management option.
And Daniels is moving in that direction. Privatizing the New Castle Correctional
Facility is on his agenda. He's on the right track.
Also boding well for privatization of Indiana's prison system is the fact that
the state's correction commissioner, J. David Donahue, is a former vice
president of the industry's premier contractor, U.S. Corrections Corp.
-- Privatizing Police Departments
The privatization of law enforcement may challenge the sensitivities of those
who presume public safety is an inherent responsibility of state and local
governments. And it is.
But when augmented by private policing, government law enforcement is not
diminished. It is enhanced.
Fifty neighborhoods in the South-East of England, for example, are paying for
private security patrols. The cost? About $550 per year per residence. Granted,
the neighborhoods tend to be among the wealthiest in Britain, but their
investment relieves over-worked government police. More importantly, the private
police are successful in catching burglars. One area covering 300 homes in north
London claims to have cut crime by 65 percent.
While private police patrols tend to serve Indiana's wealthiest neighborhoods,
high crime areas benefit as well. Private police help ease the workload of
government police departments. And that, in turn, allows them to focus their
efforts on crime-ridden neighborhoods.
-- Privatizing Government Schools
Government education is single largest entitlement program in Indiana. When
including the cost of higher education, it consumes about 51 percent of the
state's budget.
Fully privatizing all schools in Indiana would be monumental, if not impossible.
But converting our institutions to charter schools is a plausible concept worth
considering.
To qualify for the charter, each school must meet basic requirements. These
include academic standards and adequate facilities. Each school will be given
$4,500 per student enrolled. Parents will have the freedom to enroll their
children in any school. Schools with high academic achievement, safety and
discipline will attract more students and, consequently, more dollars. Schools
that lag behind will be forced to improve or simply close.
Here's how it will be accomplished.
Each charter school in Indiana will be controlled by the parents of the children
who attend that school. Parents will elect a Board of Trustees who will manage
the school. The trustees will perform management duties, including hiring staff,
arranging for facilities and other business functions.
Secondary schools will include one student on the Board of Trustees. Parents,
then, will have the freedom to select curriculum that is most effective. School
corporations and school boards will be eliminated. These levels of bureaucracy
will no longer be needed. Indiana taxpayers will save millions. Students will
benefit as their parents choose schools based on academic needs rather than
government mandate.
Not all government institutions can be privatized. Nor should they be.
The thought of turning Indiana's judicial system over to judges-for-hire, for
example, is senseless, not to mention illegal. But most, if not all, of the
state's government services could be privatized. Not only would government
become more efficient, but the cost to taxpayers would decrease dramatically.
The move toward privatization, of course, will require Hoosiers to think outside
the proverbial box. But the state's financial pressures and political climate
may be paving the way for the economic efficiency it affords.
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