Ed Reform Task Force Burps Up Same Ol’ Crud

(Chuck Muth) – Gov. Gibbons’ “Education Blue Ribbon Task Force” came up with a laundry list of silver bullet reforms to fix our government-run schools. Task force chairwoman Elaine Wynn personally came up with this gem: “We are underfunded…”

You mean all it’ll take is more money? Why didn’t anyone think of that before? I mean…it’s so simple. So very simple. Pop the champagne corks! Education is fixed!

Among other reform recommendations, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “expanding alternative routes to teacher licensure, increasing the number of charter schools in Nevada and linking teacher evaluations to student performance.”

Wow! Why didn’t we put this blue ribbon task force together sooner? I mean, no one has EVER suggested any of these reforms before this gold-plated….er, blue ribbon task force.

What a waste of time, energy and space.

Fine, expand the alternative routes to teacher licensure. The new teachers will still be stuck in the failed Soviet-style public school system.

Increase the number of charter schools? Fine. But they’ll still be under the thumb of the Soviet-style public school system.

Linking teacher performance to student performance. Great. But both the teachers and the students will still be stuck in the Soviet-style public school system.

Indeed, the only REAL reform that could possibly help improve the public schools while simultaneously returning control of education to parents from the government is school vouchers. Shockingly (not!), that suggestions apparently never occurred to this blue ribbon task force.

As long as parents are forced to send their kids to the crappy public school in their neighborhood and not empowered to seek out alternative private options, the government-run school system will continue to suck major league eggs and put out mediocre results no matter how much taxpayer dough-re-mi you pump into it.

Legislators who are truly concerned about the education of our children, as opposed to the vitality of school bureaucrats and the teachers union, ought to vote no, no, no, no, no on every education reform proposal that comes their way UNLESS it includes a universal opt-out private option for parents: school vouchers.

So let it be written; so let it be done.