Strong public schools are essential

In the mid-1980s U.S. public schools began being attacked by largely right-wing political factions and private education advocates whose sole aim was to redirect public education tax dollars into private education endeavors.

They fall under the guise of various voucher or “Ed-Choice” programs. Politicians realized that there was political capital to be gained by advocating for these groups.

Some of their assertions were fair, but, too many of them were not.

Public schools teachers were accused of being selfserving unionists who cared more about their own job security than they did their students. The truth of the matter is that, since then, tenure rules in many stated have been tweaked and eroded — thereby rendering teaching jobs much less secure than they were in the 1980s.

The bar for teacher credentialing has continued to rise in many states, however, not necessarily for private and parochial school teachers.

Standardized testing designed to meet public school graduation requirements is out of control.

Public schools serve the entire population, and there are many variables that negatively impact outcomes which are outside of their immediate control. Supportive parents and financial resources are luxuries that they often do not have.

All of these things added together are designed set public schools up for failure, or at the very least, create the illusion that they are failing.

Why? Because there is big money to be gained by private schools and testing agencies.

Despite these attacks, then and now, public schools remain the best bang-for-buck opportunity to sustain an educated population in a democratic republic.

The hard working teachers in our public schools are often underrated and under appreciated.

And yet, they continue to remain dedicated to their profession and their students, despite the often hostile environments in which they serve-especially under our current administration.

A strong public education system is the backbone of our democracy.

Tim G. Krueger Mentor