Carol Burris, veteran educator and executive director of the Network for Public Education, writes here about what the new Trump administration plans to do to American education. She foresees that President Obama’s “Race to the Top” will turn into President Trump’s “Race to the Bank,” as for-profit entrepreneurs find ways to cash in on the education industry. The ultimate goal is the elimination of public schools, which are a cornerstone of a democratic society.
She writes:
The elimination of democratically governed schools is the true agenda of those who embrace choice. The talk of “civil rights” is smoke and mirrors to distract.
The plan on the Trump-Pence website promotes redirecting $20 billion in federal funds from local school districts and instead having those dollars follow the child to the school of their choice — private, charter or public. States that have laws promoting vouchers and charters would be “favored” in the distribution of grants. Like Obama’s Race the Top, the competition for federal funds that states could enter by promising to follow Obama-preferred reforms, a Trump plan could use financial incentives to impose a federal vision on states.
The idea is not novel. Market-based reformers have referred to this for years as “Pell Grants for kids,” or portability of funding.
Portability, vouchers and charter schools have been hallmarks of Pence’s education policy as governor of Indiana. Unlike the Trump-Pence website, which frames choice as a “civil rights” initiative, Governor Pence did not limit vouchers to low-income families. He expanded it to middle-income families and removed the cap on the number of students who can apply.
Pence attacked the funding and status of public education with gusto as governor, following the lead of his predecessor Mitch Daniels:
It was promised that vouchers would result in savings, which then would be redistributed to public schools. What resulted, however, was an unfunded mandate. The voucher program produced huge school spending deficits for the state — a $53 million funding hole during the 2015-16 school year alone. That deficit continues to grow.
The “money follows the student” policy has not only hurt Indiana’s public urban schools, it has also devastated community public schools in rural areas — 63 districts in the Small and Rural Schools Association of Indiana have seen funding reduced, resulting in the possible shutdown of some, even after services to kids are cut to the bone.
In contrast, charters have thrived in Indiana with Pence’s initiatives of taxpayer-funded, low-interest loan, and per-pupil funding for nonacademic expenses. For-profit, not-for-profit and virtual schools are allowed. Scams, cheating scandals and political payback have thrived, as well. Former Indiana education commissioner Tony Bennett was forced to resign as the commissioner of Florida[1] after it was discovered that he had manipulated school rating standards to save an Indiana charter school operated by a big Republican donor who gave generously to Bennett’s campaign.
Burris shows how this kind of untrammeled school choice affected the schools of Chile and Sweden, where the far-right imposed Milton Friedman’s school choice theories. In Chile, the result was hyper segregation of all kinds; in Sweden, rankings on international exams fell. What was left of public schools were filled with the children of the poor.
Burris asks important questions:
Do we want our schools to be governed by our neighbors whom we elect to school boards, or do we want our children’s education governed by corporations that have no real accountability to the families they serve?
Do we to want to build our communities, or fracture them, as neighborhood kids get on different buses to attend voucher schools, or are forced to go to charters because their community public school is now the place that only those without options go?
Do we believe in a community of learners in which kids learn from and with others of different backgrounds, or do we want American schools to become further segregated by race, income and religion?
The most shocking instances of charter school scandal and fraud consistently appear in states that have embraced the choice “market” philosophy. Are we willing to watch our tax dollars wasted, as scam artists and profiteers cash in?
Public schools are not a partisan issue. People of all political parties serve on local school boards.
Trump’s plan is a radical plan, not a conservative plan. Conservatives don’t blow up traditional institutions. Conservatives conserve.
Now is the time for people of good will to stand together on behalf of public schools, democratic governance, and schools that serve the community.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Sadly, we are witnessing the “Walmartification” of American public education.
I don’t see how Trump could render states powerless over their own state constitutions. The cashing in on charter schools and vouchers is already happening.
I think if he gets rid of the DOE, states are well positioned to do what they want, which is a better place to be than we have been in the last twenty years, is it not?
The federal government has the power to distribute 20 billion dollars of what was Title 1 funding to states. This money used to fund staff to provide direct service to improve instruction for poor students in the areas of ESL, compensatory reading and math instruction. Trump wants to use the money to fund vouchers or charters. A lot fewer students will have access to the help they need, and the relative value of a charter or voucher will most likely have a lot less impact on the education of poor students. IMHO, it is less impactful, less democratic and a lot more wasteful.
The saddest truth about Title I funding might be found in the modern-day interpretation of those words: “improve instruction for poor students.” Giving students in-school services — or more tests. Supporting their teachers with added classroom staff — or sending their teachers out of the classroom again and again and again in the name of mandatory trainings.
My district had a staggered start time to avoid pulling students out for reading and math as well as pushing in to some classes. As far as ESL. beginner and intermediate students are better off with ESL teachers as they cannot follow the regular instruction. We also clustered some advanced students so they could receive push in service in the class. I was an ESL teacher. I spent the mornings with the beginners and intermediates, and I worked with advanced students in classrooms. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked well. It also avoided fragmenting instruction.
School choice is the best way to help our schools get better. I have been in education for over 36 years, and I have seen teachers ride out their time because of tenure, while I was busting it for less money than what the other teachers were making. School choice will force teachers and administrators to amp up their teaching.
Also, for some states like Illinois of which I live in will most likely not be able to adopt choice because the liberal, self invested Democrats in Springfield and Chicago what to keep it status quo. While we have failing schools in Chicago and other districts in the state, parents should have a choice on where to send their children to school.
Also, this would help the parochial schools, who outperform the public schools, keep tuition costs down to attract students who would not be able to afford this option.
I have worked in both public and Catholic schools. Giving school choice would be a benefit for both.
Gpurpura,
Are you ok with taxpayer dollars to Muslim schools, yeshivas, and fundamentalist schools too?
That argument has been used for decades. Competition will …
But provide an example of where it has worked. Theory and practice are often quite different. Much of what you base your ideas on is your very small sample size from personal anecdotes.
Your arguments are very seductive but have not played out successfully in the world of education. I live just outside of Detroit where school choice is undeniably rampant. Yet, the city is still at the bottom of every test / achievement list out there. There are so many choices in Detroit, but the system there keeps getting worse.
Plus, ride out due to tenure doesn’t exist in most states anymore. Tenure is a useless and meaningless word these days. In Michigan, my district is not allowed to count my experience as a factor in layoffs. By law!
gpurpura: Your comment is so scripted, direct from the pro charter/voucher propaganda mill. What a swipe and slander against tenured teachers with years of experience. Gpupura, assuming he is who he says he is, is against due process and fair hearings.
I am old and busting my butt. I have 49 kids and I run up and down stairs every period to pick up and return the children to their classrooms. I am really sick of hearing about decrepit, lazy teachers waiting to collect their pensions.
Why do all ed reformers believe parochial schools “outperform” public schools?
I thought you folks were supposedly looking at “data”?
Looks to me like raw ideological preference. That’s fine- promote the ideology, but don’t claim “science” when it’s a political preference or opposition to labor rights.
They ignore public schools entirely, except when it comes to testing. Then, they twist the data to suit the propagandistic narrative.
Undermining democracy, protecting the privileges of the few at the expense of the many, and profiteering have always been the hallmarks of the modern charter school movement. Too many Democrats drank the phony, but poisonous, innovation and “civil-rights issue of our time” juice. Now, the floodgates of privatization are open.
Time to not only resist, but put forth appealing unifying alternative improvement solutions.
https://goo.gl/diTkRj
The most remarkable thing about the Trump transition website is it doesn’t mention public schools at all:
“To Make America Great Again for approximately 70 million school-age students, 20 million post-secondary students, and 150 million working adults, the Trump Administration will advance policies to support learning-and-earning opportunities at the state and local levels – where the heart and soul of American education takes place. We will accomplish this goal through high-quality early childhood, magnet, STEAM or theme-based programs; expansion of choice through charters, vouchers, and teacher-driven learning models”
This is how little they value existing public schools. 90% of schools don’t even merit a mention.
It’s really kind of wacky when you think about it- all of DC is consumed with the 10% of US students who attend charters and private schools. Thousands of federal employees, billions of dollars, not a soul who is interested in US public schools.
How this did complete and utter disconnect from the reality of K-12 for the VAST majority of people happen, and why does it continue?
Great piece. Makes me wonder….what would it be like to live in a nation where humane, intelligent, wise people like Carol Burris, Mercedes Schneider, Diane Ravitch and (let me add a favorite writer of mine) Jill Lepore were making the key decisions in the government?
Not to be, at least in our immediate future.
Democrats at the federal level have already surrendered to Trump on education so it will be wholly up to public school parents and supporters to pressure local officials.
I actually have some faith they’ll do it. They just trounced these same people in Georgia and Massachusetts. Not that it mattered. DC is hell-bent on privatizing public schools and they don’t care what we think about it.
These offices they hold aren’t a birthright. They cut funding and gut 90% of schools at their peril.
Here’s an ed reform site on DC priorities for the next 4 years:
https://www.the74million.org/article/13-gop-education-bills-that-may-no-longer-be-dead-on-arrival-with-trump-in-the-white-house
It’s comical. The one and only “priority” that applies to 90% of schools is rolling back healthy lunch guidelines.
One. And it’s about LUNCH. That covers DC’s contribution to 90% of US schools.
I really think they could cut staff. Rolling back healthy lunch guidelines shouldn’t take more than an afternoon. Since they’re only working on behalf of charter schools and private schools, and those schools comprise 10% of students, we should be able to do with a lot fewer employees.
I would say I feel bad for all those Trump supporters in rural areas but I don’t feel bad for them. Maybe next time they’ll skip the rallies and find out what the candidate actually supports.
Rural schools will be hit hard by this ideology. They aren’t self-supporting- the communities aren’t wealthy enough to fund their own schools out of levied local taxes.
Trump wouldn’t know that, having never lived in any of these areas or attended or supported a local public school. The country is very different than NYC.
In the case of New Jersey, the state has taken over four districts.
New Jersey’s state takeovers have failed spectacularly. The districts have been under state control for more than 20 years. Should we give the state 40 years to show what it can do? Under Christie, the state is moving to turn the public schools into charters as fast as it can.
Principals often get three years to “turn a school around.” Teachers may get even less to improve their students’ test scores. Time is up, Christie.
Then, they should be required to return those schools back to the public, not to the next group of profiteers.
Thank you very much Dr. Carol Burris for your profound conclusion in this thread.
I would love to reinforce and to emphasize the importance in PUBLIC EDUCATION or the CORNERSTONE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, by repeating your TWO questions:
[start two questions]
1) Do we want our schools to be governed by our neighbors whom we elect to school boards, or do we want our children’s education governed by corporations that have no real accountability to the families they serve?
2) Do we believe in a community of learners in which kids learn from and with others of different backgrounds, or do we want American schools to become further segregated by race, income and religion?
[end question]
In short, all promoters in charter schools, voucher, and religion should go back to where they originally belong to.
Yes, Now is the time for people of good will to stand together on behalf of public schools, democratic governance, and schools that serve the community (From Dr. Carol Burris’ last sentence in this thread) and to against scam artists and profiteers.
Respectfully yours,
May King
Please don’t ignore the fact that Hillary declared on the record that she intended to continue current practices. Hers would have, too. It’s ALL of the feds that are a problem, here.
James, Hillary never declared her intention to put $20 billion into charters and vouchers. Trump’s plan is worse than anything that Obama did, but I blame Obama for supporting charters with federal funding. Hillary would have listened to reason; she would not have been happy to see the federal government promoting segregation through charters. Trump knows nothing and won’t listen. Quite a difference.
I’m not convinced at all by these doom and gloom predictions. American schools are already highly segregated and divided by race, economics, and “choice.” Families choose where and when to live and move based largely on school decisions. The needs and problems of underperforming and poor students already dictate school policies in large swaths of districts. Why would these policies do that for the first time?
Mosfe, these policies would destroy public education. That’s a big deal.
I don’t know if that is true or not, but if it is, I think it would be ok if public education as we know it was destroyed.
Ms. Ravitch, I have the greatest respect for you and your work and I don’t mean to be glib. But let us consider the state of public education in this country. It is a disaster. In the wealthy schools, by and large, the system works. In the others, it does not, or does so very poorly, or barely. I know this is a huge generalization but we are talking about a system. The outcomes are terrible. The working conditions are terrible. The regulations are terrible. The materials are terrible. Governance is terrible. The food is terrible. Self direction is terrible. Sometimes, the kids are terrible, and when they’re not, there usually aren’t enough of them to correct the system. Millions of students have left the system because their parents will not subject them to it.
Furthermore I do not agree that local governance is at stake in these proposals, as in most districts, alas, local governance is as through a mirror darkly and not worth the name.
Of course I am merely identifying what I consider the problem and not offering any solutions. In the absence of school funding reforms ala a population-wide tax (by district), I am in favor of more charters and vouchers.
What planet is Mosfe living on? He ends his fantastical screed with wanting more charter schools and vouchers. Sure, he’s just an impartial and objective observer and I’m Pope Pius XXX. (sarcasm alert)
Hi Mosfe:
If you are a master, then slave is good for you and you do not see the wrong doing in which the act of robbing others’ labor is okay within your power.
In the same vein, political GRAFT or political corruption is okay to all scam artists and profiteers who donate millions of dollars to political campaign in order to LOOT billions of dollars from PUBLIC TAX FUND that is intended to pay for the common goods in Public Education through Charter schools and Vouchers. These schools are operated by private owners who are ONLY concerned about their personal gain or profits. They destroy teaching profession. They hire and fire teaching staff who are UN-certified, NOT-credential and NO background check of being past criminal.
I succumb to the picture of cake in painting whereas in reality these private operation do not abide the regulation as the public institutes.
You must be naive or you are the Charter owner. Back2basic
Trump is a barbaric pig.
https://www.google.com/amp/nypost.com/2016/11/21/donald-trumps-media-summit-was-a-f-ing-firing-squad/amp/?client=safari
Thanks for the link. I thought the NY Post was in the bag for Trump? Same company as Fox News. I don’t know if I believe this or not but Trump is a barbaric pig and a threat to our democracy at every level possible.
A Hanna Barberic pig.
It’s covered now by several papers. NY Times is below.
https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/business/media/trump-summons-tv-figures-for-private-meeting-and-lets-them-have-it.amp.html?client=safari
Then wow, just amazing. He’s trying to intimidate the press.
One of the main problems with basing education on a corporate model is that the customers are not the shareholders, and the shareholders and executives are the sole beneficiaries of the corporate model BY DESIGN. The consumers or customers, as well as all the people and materials involved in manufacturing, are merely the tool with which to obtain those benefits. If corporations actually cared about their customers [students], the products they provide to their customers [education], or the means by which those products are created [teachers and other school employees], they would not choose higher profits over the lower-quality goods, subhuman wages, and environmental recklessness we see now.
Thus, the increasing role of corporations and their rich executives, even when it’s called “nonprofit” or “philanthropy”, will end up further widening both the education gap and the income gap, because an inherent conflict of interest lies between the people who are supposed to benefit from education [students] and the people who actually do reap benefits in the corporate model [shareholders].