As such, they should be respected members of the school community, not a means through which corporations can profit from our education tax dollars. Privatization means a loss of local control. Outside money dictates curriculum, determines which employees get hired and what they get paid, and decides what students eat and drink. School districts are handing over democratic, local control to outside interests. Privatization can hurt community members by taking dollars away from the local community and sending profits to corporations located elsewhere.
Many governmental programs are better than private ones.
In health care, for instance, Medicare has lower overhead costs than private HMOs, and delivers more health care to an individual for a given dollar, because HMOs need to extract profit from each dollar spent. Savings that are promised as the result of privatization often come at the cost of diminished quality in programs and services offered. Savings school districts could make through purchasing practices or changes in the price of commodities are not passed on to the district and taxpayers, but instead show up as increased corporate profits. Many district experiences with subcontracting include high rates of turnover, the use of less qualified personnel, and a diminished sense of educational community. Privatization undermines collective bargaining.