Time for Public Education to Cease Aborting Zip Code Children

The Education Secretary wanted to cut funding for the department of Education by approximately five percent, but Congress in their not too infinite wisdom, instead increased its funding by several billion. Secretary Devos wanted to ramp-up school voucher funding magnet and charter school programs. Again, Congress in their not too infinite wisdom denied her request to increase school voucher magnet school and charter school programs. The Education Secretary wanted to cut after-school and grant programs for low-income students and redirect the money to school vouchers. This point begs a question. Is it the school's job to provide after-school programs that do little to educate a community’s children and prepare them for the future workforce? If so, test results and dropout rates indicate abject failure on the part of too many public-school systems.

I question the prudence of increasing public education funding, while failing to increase financial resources for school vouchers for magnet and charter schools. Do we really need millions of dollars in subsidies for initiatives to reduce school violence, increase mental health services, and support separate grant programs for counseling, crisis management, and violence prevention? 

Here's a novel idea our Legislative Representatives, Educrats, School Board members, NEA leaders and membership should think long and hard about. Why not consider the future economic welfare and job prospects of students trapped in underperforming schools that fail to meet their basic educational needs? Why not end a system that forces students into schools based on their zip code or family income? Is this fair to those kids who happen to live in impoverished areas? Is it fair to use ghetto children as political pawns? Furthermore, are not ghetto children part of a community in which a minority group lives? Like our Congress, our public education system, as it currently stands is limping through the motions if not already fractured. What Congress is doing is limiting choices for students by acquiescing to those politically motivated organizations; primarily, NEA and its membership, education text publishers, liberal mouth pieces and an ignorant (not to be confused with stupid) constituent base. 

The government should not penalize zip code children by forcing them to attend substandard secondary education schools. To do so is tantamount to deprecating, disparaging and vilifying a segment of a community's citizenry.