How would you feel if the government treated food purchases like it does k-12 education?  After all, food is a critical need for all humans.

Here is a hypothetical idea to help envision the issue:

Let's set up about 30 government grocery stores in each county.  Then assign the residents a store they can go to purchase groceries based on their home address.  You will not be allowed to go to a different store for equity purposes.  You can only go to your assigned store.  You also have no say over what groceries are sold in this store.   All merchandise sold in this government store will be decided by a government board run by the state.  If you want or need different items, you must lobby the state legislature or the local grocery store board.

Oh, by the way, none of the employees at this government store will ever be rewarded based on work ethic, creativity, or ingenuity.  They will only be awarded based on their seniority. 

Can you envision such a government grocery store system?  Would this be something you want over the free market choices we have now?

The above scenario scares me to death, and I do not believe Americans would be willing to accept shopping for groceries this way.  Unfortunately, however, we accept this measure of government control every day when we send our children to school. 

Children attend schools assigned to them based on their home address.  Parents have a minimal amount of input into the policies of those schools or the curriculum that is taught.  Suppose your public school is underperforming; too bad for you.  Your child is offered no other options unless you can afford to send them to private school or homeschool.  If you don't like it, you are told to lobby your state legislature or local school board.

Educating our kids is critical for their future success, yet we outsource our children's education needs to government bureaucrats, unaccountable state boards, and take control and away from parents.

Students need educational options, and parents need to have greater control.  We need to take a serious look at moving away from the current one-size-fits-all school system.  It is way past time we look at funding students over systems and allowing school choice.  

You are invited.  Tonight: Wednesday, June 8, Reopen Charles County PAC hosts a School Choice forum.  I will be speaking with nationally known advocate for education, Corey DeAngelis, the National Director of Research for the American Federation for Children.

Please join us at 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm) at Foster's Bar and Grill in La Plata for this critical School Choice Forum.  School choice policy has never enjoyed more public support than right now, post-pandemic, when parents, students, and teachers all feel there must be a better way to educate our youth.  So if you want to be a better advocate for your children or candidate for the local office, you need to be there!  This event is FREE and open to the public.  Please RSVP so we may better prepare for attendance: pac.reopencharlescounty.com/school_choice