Standing Up for Public Schools in Mississippi
Advocates discuss the importance of defeating school privatization efforts
Public Funds for Public Schools interviewed a pair of Mississippi public education advocates - before that state’s legislature adjourned with NO voucher/privatization bills passing.
Here’s more on what they had to say about the importance of fighting for public education:
This Public Funds Public Schools interview features Nancy Loome, Executive Director of The Parents’ Campaign in Mississippi, and Michael Cormack, Deputy Superintendent of Jackson Public Schools in that state.
Nancy Loome: Our focus is on students and what's good for students in public schools, and our mission is to give parents a voice and to provide them with an avenue to have conversations with the folks who are making decisions that affect their children's schools. Our role is to make it very easy for busy people to participate in these conversations by providing them not only with the training that they need to feel confident, but also with the information they need about proposals that are being considered, whether it's legislation or a change in policy.
Defeating vouchers is a priority because vouchers provide a direct funding stream to private schools that takes funding away from our public schools. Private schools are not designed to be a public good. They want to be able to select the students that they educate and are not open to all students. Because they have a selective admission process, they can refuse any child for any reason. And they operate outside of the public eye. We don't know what the standards are that they are purporting to meet. We don't have any accountability for the quality of education that they are providing. So funding private schools is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars, which are intended to fund public goods, things that are open to all children and benefit all taxpayers.
Michael Cormack: I think we need to speak with a unified voice across urban, rural, and suburban systems, to talk about the benefits of public education and to remind our communities, our families, our parents, who are well-versed in the benefits of a public education, of the benefit to all. Not only to their own individual students, but to their local communities in terms of increased graduation rates and more students headed on to careers of opportunity and to college. As Nancy mentioned, public educators have a responsibility, obligation, and privilege to educate and ensure greater progress for our students.
