Principals at conventional public schools are calling the parents of students who leave to find out how the schools could better meet student needs. Keegan is trying to move funding for schools from the local level to the state level. Although such a move raises the hair on the necks of her Conservative allies, it serves two important purposes. It addresses educational equity questions between schools districts, while mitigating the power of local districts, politically allied with the teacher unions, to derail the charter experiment. Keegan realizes parents are conservative by temperament and will not likely support a full voucher program until they are convinced of the feasibility of alternatives.
Charter schools provide the first step in creating the full infrastructure of alternatives.
Keegan has demonstrated how the power of government can be enlisted to empower parents and achieve Conservative objectives. It is a crucial lesson to be learned if Conservatives hope to govern successfully. The Weekly Standard, April 27, 1998.