Lois Fornander attacked The Gazette for supporting school vouchers on March 20.

She began her screed by referring to “the early days of the school privatization movement in the 1980s.” Wrong! School choice is not now, nor has it ever been, a “privatization movement.” To the contrary, it is, and has always been, a parental empowerment movement committed to giving low-income parents, whose kids are condemned to the worst-performing schools, the ability, just like those with more affluence, to enroll their kids in the schools they think are best for them, be they private, charter, traditional public or even home. Fornander specifically criticized religious schools, taking it upon herself to decide what type of school other parents’ kids should attend, demonstrating patronizing and paternalistic disrespect for the judgment of low-income parents, disproportionately ethnic and of color, who she obviously feels are not as qualified as she to make decisions on behalf of their own children.

But the best insight into Fornander’s mindset was her statement, “researchers have often pointed to the single greatest accomplishment of American public schools – teaching students to accept one another, work with one another and embrace cultural differences.” While they may be right, wouldn’t a better accomplishment have been to have taught kids how to read, write, do arithmetic, understand history and think critically? Is not the most important role of schools to educate? This fuzzy, feel good, Kumbaya-singing, unaccountable public school mindset has resulted in half our nation’s students not performing at grade level and ranked 20th, or worse, in international competition despite spending more per student than any other country.

Here is another Fornander gem: “The job of American public schools is to teach our children to respect differences among their peers – whether that be in athletic skill, academic ability or cultural and religious differences.” No! No! No! It is the job of American public schools to teach our children how to read, write, add, subtract and to appreciate the foundation of our great country and why it is important for them to protect and advance our nation’s special values. No student should be forced to attend a school his or her parent determines is not adequately accomplishing those objectives.

What is most fascinating about the arguments put forth by school choice opponents is that they all focus on protecting failing schools, just like the teachers union protects failing teachers, and protecting “the system.” In sharp contrast, school choice supporters put the interests of students above all else, protecting what is best for each and every one of them. Parents, not public bureaucrats and certainly not an unaccountable, unresponsive, nonperforming “blob,” should be empowered to choose what school they think is best for their children.

Some of us are old enough to remember Gov. George Wallace standing in an Alabama schoolhouse door blocking black kids from entering. Today we see too many people standing in the doorways of failing schools blocking black, brown and poor white kids from escaping. In the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Let my people go.”

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Steve Schuck is a longtime businessman and real estate investor based in Colorado Springs.

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