The role of Parents in Education

Dear Davis County Parents,

Over the last four months as we have worked with the Legislature and State School Board to create public school choice (the right for a parent to remove their child from a neighborhood school and enroll them in another public school with capacity), I’ve come to realize that a core belief among many education administrators is that the “good of the school” outweighs the “good of the child”. While I don’t agree, I understand that good people can approach the common goal of educating children differently. Personally I feel strongly that the common good is to meet the need of the individual child, and to achieve this, parents must have a strong voice in the education of children.

This year we have seen several education battles in our state including “Choice in Education (Vouchers)”, “Public School Choice”, “Small School Districts” and “Public vote for Superintendent Retention” to name just a few. Every one of these issues revolves around one fundamental difference of opinion. Should parents be empowered to choose, or influence, What, When, Where and How their child is educated. Traditionally this has been the responsibility of the educational elite. The century old monopoly approach to education is required if the education elite is to maintain their political and social power to manage the system. Unfortunately, managing the system is not always what is needed to respond to the changing demands of a global economy. Especially when the system has insolated itself from competition and consumer feedback.

As public school parents we should celebrate the 2007 legislative victories. A unanimous vote of the House and Senate has required that the State School Board create new rules to implement “Public School Choice”. Parents were given the right to direct a small fraction of the education dollars in the form of a voucher. Teachers were given an across the board raise and the largest education funding increase in the history of the state was passed. Unfortunately, many career administrators see too much power shifting to parents and are fighting hard to maintain the status quo. I believe that most of these administrators are sincere in their belief that they, not parents, know what is best for our children.

As we prepare for a vote regarding vouchers I strongly encourage you to gain the facts. When you hear how evil they are, find out for yourself. We have and will continue to hear much about how “the sky is falling” on our children’s education because of vouchers. But the facts simply don’t support it. Economically it has the potential of significantly boosting public school spending per child. The math is really quite simple, as a state we spend on average $7,500 per child every year. The average voucher is expected to be less then $2,000. That leaves $5,500 left in the system to reduce class sizes and increase teacher pay. Further, if parents had a choice in education, there is no way the Davis School District could continue to dismiss parents desire of parents.

Please join me this Tuesday for a rally to support school choice (see attached):

WHEN: Tuesday, May 15, 2007
TIME: 1:30 - 2:30 PM
WHERE: State Capitol, Salt Lake City
(courtyard on the north side of the main capitol building)

Sincerely,

Randy Smith
Concerned Father
Spokesman, DavisParents.org