Blindness in the education bureaucracy
by Jami Lund

If you share my love for liberty, you will also share my disdain for the results of coercion.

Here’s the particular problem I am thinking of: Individuals who collect taxes, union dues, insurance premiums or “clients” by coercion have little incentive to actually provide good service.

We see many examples of this flaw in Washington’s education system. Consider two cases.

Jennifer Zora of Battle Ground recently told me about some parents living at the outside edge of the town’s school district who wanted their children to attend closer, safer, less crowded, and demonstrably academically superior schools in the neighboring district.

They made what they thought was a logical petition to the “powers that be” to change the boundaries of the school district. Little did they know they were attempting the unforgivable and speaking the unspeakable.

You see, the last thing the education bureaucracy wants to admit is that one school is better than another, and permitting choice allows someone to make that judgment. The petition of the parents was denied.

Second, Kimberly Dow of Woodinville informed me of an even more egregious example of this problem. A number of children in her area ride a bus alongside the Lake Washington School District and through part of the Northshore School District to finally arrive at the Riverview schools they are required to attend.

The affected families have petitioned to allow their children to attend the Lake Washington schools that are closer and have better academic results. They were disheartened to learn that, as a “courtesy” to the education establishment, the Lake Washington district would not be permitted to speak on behalf of the parents’ petition. A decision is expected by May 5.

What consequences does a school or district face if it is underperforming, but refuses to allow parents another choice? None.

What incentive, then, would such a school district have to improve? None.

Right now, it seems enforcing boundaries has become more important to some districts than helping parents receive the best possible education for their children. Would we tolerate this kind of disregard for a client in any other business?

These cases reveal an education establishment more concerned with preserving control, revenue, and reputation than anything else.

The parents involved have been deemed unqualified to determine what is best for their children and they are ignored. The students pay the price.

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