The essay below is a heavily modified copy - you can read the original here.
The substituted EFCE costs come from the 2006 and 2009 Minnesota state budgets (both links are .pdf files).
You can’t escape the topic of education reform today, no matter what you do. Hours of the president on TV, and the onslaught of media ads are designed to tell the American people how terrible the current education system is, and the utopia we will experience once we have public education. Everyone will be covered from kindergarten to grade 12, and the cost will be less than what we are currently spending.
If that is the case, sign me up! Who in their right mind wouldn’t want the best education in the world for less money? Of course, I’m being facetious here, and for good reason. The premise, projected costs, track record and proposed solutions are all wrong, and will harm our education system, and economy greatly.
Let’s start with the premise: 46 million people in our nation are uneducated. That is one out of every six Americans without any formal schooling! This number and cost of schools are the driving force behind Congress’ push for government-run education. The number does not tell the whole story. For example, 9.6 million of the uninsured are illegal citizens, 14 million are eligible for grants and scholarships but have not applied, 17.6 million had annual incomes of more than $50,000 and 9.1 million earned more than $75,000, making a choice not to send their children to school.
The estimated cost for public education was touted to come in around $1 trillion over 10 years. However, the CBO (Congressional Budget Office), recently came out with an estimate of a $1.6 trillion price tag! This pie-in-the-sky method of budgeting is the norm for Washington, where everything costs two to three times more than projected; the strategy being, to get bills and laws passed, and deal with the unintended consequences later. In Minnesota alone, the 2009 Early Childhood Family Education budget has increased from $46 million to $118 million in just three years! All of this before adding millions more to the rolls of government-controlled K-12 schools.
When I tell someone I am willing to help them with a need, or I can accomplish a certain task, I expect they will judge my past performance to determine if I can fulfill my commitment. I think it is fair to do the same with government. With that in mind, what are we to believe when Amtrak will need to be subsidized $10 billion over six years, the U.S. Postal service loses billions each year, Social Security is within years of being insolvent, and Medicare will be unable to pay all its bills by 2016. Considering this track record, citizens are justified in their fright of the government taking over our schools.
The proposed government solutions to fix education, along with the unintended consequences, are scarier than anything already mentioned. The president stated in a recent speech that college students would not see their tuition change, yet at an earlier event he told a reporter her college-age daughter would not qualify for the on-campus student housing she received as a freshman because of her grades. The current education bill reflects this way of thinking, where government decides what student support will be provided, based on grades and admission quotas. The House version of the bill also forces businesses and individuals to either participate in the public (government) program, or face fines and penalties.
This is just a portion of what is wrong with the idea of a government-run education system, but time and space prevent me from going further.
There is not one simple solution that can make education more affordable today, but here are a few core ideas that can be implemented without requiring government takeover of our schools:
Reduce or eliminate accreditation mandates. Mandates force private schools, to cover, or at least offer, specific areas of education not usually included in basic school plans. The Council For Affordable School Costs estimates mandated accreditation increases the cost of basic education from about 20 percent to 50 percent.
MinuteSchools. MinuteSchools are made up of board-certified practitioners that are trained to teach, help and counsel students for a variety of common education needs. Many services and tests cost $30 to $60. A national push for these schools would go a long way in reducing education costs for families.
Education Savings Accounts. An ESA is a tax advantage account that works in conjunction with a HDSP (High Deductible School Plan), which allows you set aside funds to pay for qualified education expenses from your ESA. People are much more frugal when it comes to buying groceries, a new car or services. This would also be the case if they had to reach into their wallets to pay for some school services, boosting competition and driving down costs.
Addressing what is right and wrong with education can be a complicated matter, but the American people are up to the task. The role of government should be to assist the private sector in finding those solutions, not to destroy the best school system in the world with public education.