By james art In a recent opinion piece, state Rep. Dustin Burroughs, R-Lubbock, wrote that he is “working with [his] fellow legislators to increase funding … and enable school choice.” He makes an important but overlooked point: school choice and traditional public schools are complements, not substitutes.
Opponents of school choice—often those with a vested interest in maintaining the educational status quo—argue that school finances will deteriorate if we allow parents to directly control money for their children’s education. But as Representative Burroughs shows, it is entirely possible to fund public schools while promoting choice and flexibility. These things can and must go together to build a K-12 system that works for all Texans.
Traditional public schools are a great option for most families. Other families have children who need a more structured or tailored learning environment than public schools can provide. Private schools, small group “study pods,” educational co-ops, and even homeschooling can be great alternatives. Families should be able to use their share of public funding to get an education that best suits their circumstances.
We need to stop insisting on a uniform process for teaching our children from the top down. Learning is a complex activity. Our aim should be to ensure that every child can receive the education that is right for them, not that they should be educated in a certain way.
Congressman Burroughs has supported bills that strengthen the public school system while giving families much-needed flexibility. I fully expect him to continue this advocacy during the next legislative session. For this he deserves our thanks.
Alexander William Salter is the Georgie G. Snyder Associate Professor of Economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, a research fellow at TTU’s Free Market Institute, and a community member of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Editorial Board. The opinions in this column are his alone.