Gardner C. Osborne
for
U. S. Congress Texas-12
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Problem: The education of our children in a knowledge based economy is vital. The problem is that our public school system does not educate our children. Actually, I believe that is does harm to our children through exposure to drugs, gangs and poor classroom environment. Additionally, the public school is a waste of good tax money. Texas spends about $8500 per child per year.
Cause: The cause of this problem is the continued reliance on bureaucratic rules and "new" programs. Schools are a bureaucrats haven. Rules, laws, meetings, committees, parents groups, teachers and their unions are involved in deciding how best to educated our children. First it was magnet schools, then charter schools, now it is "No child left behind" testing. All have failed and our schools have gotten worse, not better.
Solution: The solution is simple. Vouchers, without any strings attached, given to every parent.
I support a national ( I am a federal level candidate ) voucher program. The money that is now doled out the states should be given to every parent as a voucher. The parents would be able to spend their voucher at any school; Public, private or even for home school supplies and expenses (of course, not on home schooled teacher salaries). The money could not be spent on religious activities. Many private schools and other groups are against vouchers because of the fear that if they take the voucher, then they will be subject to the bureaucratic rules of government. Therefore, there can not be any strings attached to the vouchers. The Department of Education could be virtually eliminated.
Once the parents have the right to select the best schools and teachers for their children, our educational system will quickly attain the status of the best in the world.