The chasm between consciousness and anti-consciousness continues to grow in the context of failing economies and failed states at home and abroad. In this fractured and decaying context where the gap between authoritarianism and democracy grows wider with greater speed, every day brings new criminal thinking and agendas masquerading as much-needed innovative ideas and plans.
In the world of K-12 education, the latest neoliberal proposal comes from New Hampshire. Recently, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, sponsored House Bill 1358 “which would establish a commission to study converting all public schools to public charter schools.” With no sense of irony, Osborne casually presented his reckless proposal to privatize all public schools as “a stone that could kill a lot of birds.” He even claimed that, “issues over public education funding, escalating property taxes and housing would go away under his proposal.” Such proposals to “study something” over the course of one year are usually a way to open the door to something that has already been decided.
Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that some of the opposition to the elimination of public education comes from confused public education advocates. Thus, for example, the two main concerns raised by Brian Hawkins, National Education Association NH lobbyist, are that “It’s an incredibly short period of time to study such a large issue” and “The commission also lacks educators.” Are these really the main issues at stake? Why not come out and openly declare that the neoliberal proposal to eliminate public education is criminal and unacceptable no matter who is on the commission and how long they have to study such a proposal? Such a proposal is not only flawed in terms of execution, it is also conceptually flawed. It is harmful at all levels. Privatization does not solve problems, it makes them worse.
Fortunately, some members of the House Education Policy and Administration Committee pointed out that quite a few New Hampshire charter schools have closed due to financial malfeasance. This is common in charter schools nationwide. Other Committee members indicated that public schools are accountable to the public while “charter school trustees or board members are appointed and do not come under such scrutiny.” Giana Gelsey, Madbury’s representative on the Oyster River School Board, reminded everyone that charter schools are exempt from many rules and regulations upheld by public schools. In other words, they are not really public schools proper. Concerns about loss of local control were also raised. It is well-known, for example, that “Commissions” and “Boards” like the one proposed by House Majority Leader Jason Osborne are comprised of unelected pro-privatization persons that evade elected governance. For her part, Deb Howes, president of the American Federation of Teachers NH, said the charter school proposal would eliminate the public’s voice. She stressed that, “New Hampshire is not ready to fund an expanded number of charter schools, so studying the process or making it easier to achieve is entirely premature.” Howes also said that the charter school proposal “is just another example of things being done to us without consulting us.” This is a common theme in society where many institutions, politicians, and leaders routinely ignore people’s rights and impose retrogressive agendas on them instead.
It is also worth noting that, “Charter schools [in New Hampshire] do not have to meet the state standards and guidelines for public education nor follow certification requirements for teachers and administrators.” This in turn adversely affects teacher professionalism.
Currently, there are 38 charter schools serving 6,000 students in New Hampshire.
InDepthNH.org reported that, “The committee did not make an immediate recommendation on the bill.”
It is incumbent upon the public to defeat all efforts to privatize education. Privatization lowers the quality of everything, raises costs, increases corruption, and restricts democracy. Private interests cannot serve the public interest. Private interests are concerned with the pursuit of maximum profit, not the common good. Privatization violates the right to education while enhancing private financial gains.
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This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Shawgi Tell.