Michissippi Madness: Educational Apartheid on the Rise/GOP Monopoly Corporatocracy Replaces Local Democracy

Yesterday's late night vote (December 14, 2011) to uncap profit making charters culminates in defeat A MORE THAN 30 YEAR BATTLE to protect the grand heritage of the publicly-funded, publicly-controlled, publicly-loved neighborhood public schools.

Unlimited Charter loosey-goosey Legislation now replaces that school with a plethora of profit-for-profit-sake wildcat operations designed to siphon off hundreds of millions of your tax dollars into the hands of a wide variety of unsavory and anti-democratic corporations, con men, and swindlers.
WHAT MICHISSIPPIAN SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE THE FIRST TO BE CONVERTED TO ALL FOR-PROFIT CHARTERS? HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? THEN WHAT?

Here in Michigan it all began with Dick & Betsy parading academics Chubb and Moe around the state utilizing the Brookings Institution's book: "Politics, Markets, and America's Schools".

Wrote Al Shanker concerning Chubb and Moe:

"...(I)t's too bad that THE ONLY SOLUTION THEY OFFER IS TO END DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND PUT SCHOOLS IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS TOOTHPASTE --THAT IS, UNDER MARKET CONTROL. But with this important difference " the individual would choose the "product," but the public would still pay."

"Under the scheme that Chubb and Moe favor, schools would be virtually unregulated. THE STATE WOULD ALLOW JUST ABOUT ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE TO START A SCHOOL. THEY WOULD SET THEIR OWN CRITERIA FOR STUDENT ADMISSIONS AND TEACH PRETTY MUCH WHAT THEY WANTED. PARENTS WOULD BE FREE TO CHOOSE THE SCHOOLS THAT ATTRACTED THEM, EACH SCHOOL WOULD RECEIVE PUBLIC MONEY ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER AND KIND OF STUDENTS ENROLLED AND KIDS WHOM NO ONE WANTED WOULD SOMEHOW BE FOUND A PLACE. The idea is that a wide variety of schools filling particular tastes would grow up. The ones that were satisfactory to consumers would flourish; the others would fail."

Original.