Real Reasons Why Politicians are Pushing the “School Choice” Agenda
Tags: Education, Politics, Education Reform, Civil Rights, Corruption

How could you possibly afford to completely defund public and free education? How could you justify defunding public education across our nation, that was found and funded on the principle of: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?

If you vote for people currently in power, who believe in Betsy DeVos propaganda of “school choice” you are in a for a rude awakening.

“Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests, of the people.” — James Madison, The Federalist Papers

If you haven’t gone through or experienced, first hand the current state of affairs in your local free to the public school systems, then you are part of the “ignorant” masses. Sorry, not sorry, but walk a mile in my shoes, see what I see. Feel what I have felt for pretty much most of my teaching career (10 plus years — thus far); scratch that, for most of my adult life.

Soon, there will be $0 of your hard-earned tax dollars funding any free public school education.

What then? You think the rich and all-powerful will “bail-you-out” of the predicament you decidedly walked into? Do you think that the Private and Parochial schools will hire out qualified teachers who truly care about their profession, and have been through “fire and brimstone” to polish themselves up, to rise up to the call, the selfless act of being an educator[1]?

Do you think people that are driven by their own bottom line, greed, and vanity, will care who they hire? Will they care that there is an opportunity for all?

Is “school choice” really any “choice” for the rest of us non-millionaires or billionaires?

The money will be 100% siphoned off by multi-billion-dollar special interest corporations, as it is occurring now; I’ve experienced this firsthand, as an activist and part of the #REDforED movement, which grew into the #InvestinEd grassroots movement, here in Arizona from 2017 through 2020[2].

I helped build and find funding for SOSAZ — now, a recognized non-profit 503(c) organization, galvanized by families, parents, teachers, people like you and me; the regular Johns and Janes of America who work for a living.

Meanwhile, the richest of the rich 1% are laughing at the middle-class and hard-working families, who are the backbone of our nation (us). Taking advantage of every loophole there is in the “local governance” and “local school board” with their “election” playbook.

They continually exploit these loopholes they themselves have written into local law. They give this playbook directly to their special interest connections; the lobbyists that pay them to serve their own selfish purposes.

In Arizona, for I am speaking for the State I live and teach, there are multiple Philanthropic factions, such as the “Barry Goldwater Institute”; which on paper, claims they are a non-profit, like the NRA and the NFL; yet, they truly are a clever façade for a “non-profit” who is 100% partisan, and will only do what serves their best interests in mind; lining their own pockets, making themselves and their own families richer, with money, connections, and they hunger power[3], most of all.

At every public hearing and committee hearing, I attended, on the Senate floor, I had some hope for our future, as I exercised my right as a citizen and responsible voter.

However, shortly before COVID-19 shutdown all government buildings to the public, the last hearing incited such deep-rooted rage. I almost blew it right there on the Senate hearing floor!

The reason… The person I trusted and voted for, flipped on us. We had voted for her the previous election, and she flipped; no explanation, no reason given, her connection to us, her base; gone in one sole vote.

She was a teacher, she was part of her own children’s school board district, and by all accounts served ethically and diligently, she ran on the campaign notion that she disapproves 100% and is against defunding public education at any level of government.

Well, she voted for the bloated expansion of ESA (Empowerment Scholarship Accounts) vouchers[4]; to expand now beyond our borders of our State… Literal tax dollars leaving our State to other Private for-profit schools and Parochial schools around the Arizona borders. Why? Because the “Native American children’s parents deserve ‘school choice’ too”.

If you would allow me to paint a clearer picture here: the Navajo and Apache Reservations near our great States’ borders, they amount to less than 1% of our total student population. The caveat, funding being taken away, is potentially over $110 million! We are already 50% under-funded since the 2008 recession.

You can bet your fanny that $110 million being further taken away hurts the remaining millions of children in our State outside the Navajo and Apache Reservations.

In fact, even the spokespeople of each Indigenous nation and the ones in charge of the governing of boards of their own district schools are 100% against the proposed ESA voucher expansion and over-reach, into further tax-dollar funds[5]. The funds they are taking is meant solely for free and public education for all.

Worst of all, most tribal governments and sovereign tribal nations do not pay taxes, at all; unless they work outside the reservation and live outside the reservation, as well. So, in plain language, they are getting money that is free for them; but costs the non-tribal land residents their hard-earned tax dollars[6].

You want to know the best part? Less than 1% of the Navajo nation residents[7] will use the blasted thing, as their own people and leaders vehemently have repeated at every public hearing, they “don’t want or need this new ESA Voucher Program”.

Here is the kicker, the lack of oversight and auditing, lack of accountability, on the current and the proposed bill, as it stands. No one, but the head of the committee, who voted “yes”(by a 9–3 majority for this ESA Voucher expansion), will be the main overseers of the bill and how the funds are handled and distributed. What?!?[8]

Do you see how this will be, and currently is, a problem?

From $1 million for the 1% disability services, to a free-for-all, anyone can apply for the $110 million to pay for tuition, for their school of choice; which is defunding public school education. Do you see the problem?

The original ESA voucher program has rarely been audited since its inception back in 2010. Yes, a decade ago[9]!

The people who originally voted for the ESA voucher program, and the original form of this bill, meant to give the vouchers to the 1% of the students with disabilities, per the ADA Act of 1990 [10].

The students with disabilities, attending public schools, were meant to receive 100% of this extra boost, (beyond their own school districts’ provided services, per the current laws). The ESA voucher was meant to pay for extra services to the 1% population of students with moderate to severe disabilities.

Now, the ESA voucher program has devolved over the past decade, no longer recognizable as it originally stood, ten years ago. As the saying goes:

“The road to hell is paved with ‘good intentions’ ”.

To recap: a mere $1 million in 2010, to $110 million a decade later, and now it’s expanded so anybody, (2015), can apply and get a check, with little to no oversight, no questions asked, and no accountability.[8]

Parents are using this “free” (not free — taxpayers money), to use to pay for services and now also Private and Parochial Schools. By next year, schools outside our State’s borders will get this money too! Goodbye, one-third of the remaining State’s budget, originally allocated for public free education; money schools need to stay open and function, especially now with COVID-19, with the demands for all staff and students to wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and technology accessibility schools are expected to have!

Soon, we will only see the privatization of education, such as in countries like the: the Middle East, most of Central and South America, Russia, and the very few “Republics” of some African countries.

Where most of the country’s population is illiterate and ignorant to the core[11].

In these countries, where privatization of decent and good education is the norm; a majority of its citizens are not only ignorant, they are taken advantage of every facet of life.

Their votes are traded in for necessities and food because they cannot see the forest for its trees or vice versa. They are too hungry and blinded by self-hatred and indoctrination of the narrative given by the powerful with money and influence. Saying, “your suffering will end if you elect me!”[12]

The multi-generational poverty is 86% of people who lack the ability to care or be able to know any better because they cannot read [11]! Their capacity to care beyond their own is filled-to the brim and ebbing with just thoughts of surviving each day. They have become feeble-minded over-time and are constantly in survival mode; the likes of which I experienced firsthand being born and raised in Brazil, for my first nine years of life on this Earth.