Schools-news-Libertarians

==Report Card on Schools – more money is not the answer==
===Libertarian Party analyzes government school spending against SAT scores===
:Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, April 7, 2007
:Doug Leard (Media Relations) or Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org
Harrisburg, PA -- According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Report Card on the Schools, school districts in the five-county southeast Pennsylvania region increased spending per student by an average of 32%, or $3372 from 2003 to 2007. During the same period, average SAT scores dropped 32 points. 
Montgomery County Libertarian Chair, James Babb declared “the cost of education continues to rise while quality declines. This is the inherent problem with any product or service provided by government. The only way I know to improve quality and reduce costs is the free market. I trust parents to make good choices about their children’s future much more than politicians.”
The Report Card supports Mr. Babb’s point regarding the cost / quality advantage of the private sector. The average cost per student of a private school in the region is $12,924 compared to $13,680 for a government school. The average SAT score is 1129, 200 points above the average for government schools.
Libertarian author, Harold Kyriazi, adds “School administrators without the power to fire incompetent teachers and exclude disruptive students, and parents without the power to withdraw their tax dollars from underperforming schools, virtually guarantees a bad outcome. On the other hand, we know that healthy competition, and genuine educational choice for parents and control for administrators, would guarantee that the best schools and teachers rise to the top.”
Michael Robertson, LPPa Chair, notes “It should be no surprise that performance declines while costs increase in the current public education system. The top-down management approach that has overtaken the system has placed equality ahead of excellence. State and federal mandates make it increasingly difficult for parents and local school boards to address issues of local concern. Until this system changes the quality of public school education will continue to suffer as costs continue to rise."
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