The Love of Money is the Root of...Charter Schools ~ and Evil, too!
These days there is m-u-c-h talk and even m-o-r-e walk about the state of affairs related to the lack of public (not charter) school funding and decimated teacher salaries that, to boot, do not keep up with inflation.
But, the issue isn't that there isn't public funding. We do not need to further squeeze the middle class with additional taxes to fund public schools and pay teachers a competitive wage.
The money is there.
This real issue is the siphoning of public school funding to for-profit charter schools.
The fact that charter schools are sold to parents as "private schools" using the euphemism "school choice" does not help either. Parents have been brainwashed into thinking that they get to send their children to "private" schools for "free."
But, we all know that there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, right? Wrong. Apparently. I do not think that lesson is taught in schools these days. I digress.
Parents do not know that "charter schools," like public schools, are simply a creature of state statutes - and really nothing more than "glorified" public schools. They are "glorified" simply through the gift of gab that many self-seeking politicians' possess.
Worse there are all kinds of legal issues underlying charter schools because they go against the basic tenants of our Constitutional Republic since they violate the principle of "No Taxation Without Representation." There are many more issues, but for the purpose of this article, that one suffices - and it's a biggie.
The greater point that needs to be made is that teachers can continue to protest and walkout and blog and well everything else we've been doing for about a decade now, but until we eradicate the root of the problem, the situation for public education and its teachers and students will inevitably progress more and more into a dismal abyss until once-and-for-all charter schools have taken over.
Yes, there is a movement pushing for a "Charter School Takeover." It is not a matter of "if" but when.
This leads me to t-h-e greatest point, which is that unions should be mobilizing their efforts to sue the State of Florida because Article IX of the Florida Constitution does not provide for charters - and only for public schools. Likewise, the Florida Constitution Revision Commission is looking to make changes to the Florida Constitution to "fit" the charter school's industry's agenda.
This is the time to sue - not after the Florida Constitution has been changed!
Now, really, in what Constitutional Republic do politicians seek to "change" the Constitution to fit their agenda? We all know the answer to that. Tyrannical governments.
It is time to S-T-O-P the tyranny.
We are losing time - and ground.
The only way this can be accomplished is if the local unions and/or Florida state educational associations, which receive monies from the local unions, SUE the state and find a way to declare that charter schools are U-N-C-O-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N-A-L. once-and-for-all.
Starve the Beast. Eradicate the Root of the Problem.
