By Becky Pringle, Vice President, National Education Association.
It has been three years since Governor Tom Corbett cut millions of dollars from York City public schools, creating a funding crisis that is still being felt in the city’s schools today. David Meckley, Corbett’s hand-picked ‘chief recovery officer’ for the district, now wants to solve the schools’ financial challenges by handing over every one of them to a corporate charter operator with a shaky track record.
Sound familiar? It’s the same story that played out in Detroit, Flint, and Philadelphia where these ‘chief recovery officers’ or ‘emergency managers’ have all made the same recommendation: to hand over the cities’ public schools to the highest private bidder.
No surprise. It didn’t work. School closures and privatization efforts have not proven to be the silver bullet that pro-corporate education politicians like Corbett championed. In places like Flint, Michigan, lawmakers refusal to invest in what matters to families – creating good jobs, great schools, adult education, and quality pre-K—has crippled our public schools and hurt our children.
Here in Pennsylvania, the clock is ticking for Governor Corbett, who is trailing in the polls to Democratic candidate Tom Wolf. That’s why Meckley is pushing the York City School Board to review proposals from Charter Schools USA and Mosaica Education, Inc., allowing them to take over every one of the city’s public schools as quickly as possible. That decision needs to be made before November when Pennsylvania’s voters will likely to send Corbett and his pro-privatization agenda packing. But York’s educators, parents, and community leaders are saying NO! And we must join them.
The York City privatization plan won’t save taxpayers one dime. But it will cost them a voice in how their schools are run. Converting their schools to corporate charters will do nothing but line the pockets of private companies and their CEOs.
We need to stop this corporate takeover and push to restore the funding Governor Corbett cut from Pennsylvania’s public schools. We can’t stand by while the Governor hands over our schools and our children’s futures to an out-of-state, for-profit corporation so they can squeeze what little money is left out of them.
Recent reports confirm that lack of oversight in the charter industry is responsible for millions of dollars in taxpayer fraud waste and abuse. That’s millions of dollars that the community of York doesn’t have to spare.
So why are charters even on the table in Pennsylvania after reports show that only one in six of the state’s charter schools is “high-performing” and there have been multiple incidents of fraud and tax conspiracies? The reason is simple – money. Our nation invests billions of dollars in public education, and privateers would love nothing more than to stuff some of that money into their own pockets. We can’t even give Gov. Corbett points for originality. He’s just following in the footsteps of other politicians who are pushing the same old ALEC-model public school privatization agenda in state after state.
That’s why I am joining the York City Education Association, Pennsylvania State Education Association, the NAACP and local religious leaders on September 24th at a rally immediately before York’s school board considers the corporate charter school proposals.
If we don’t push back against privatization in York like we did in Bridgeport, CT and Milwaukee and as we continue to in Kansas, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Colorado, the voices of York’s students, parents and educators will be silenced.
We cannot let corporations destroy public education and slam the door in the faces of so many students. We must take back our schools for our students who deserve the access and opportunity our public education system can provide.
How can you help York City students, educators and families fight back against corporate education? Send an email to the York City School Board members below.
Sample Message to School Board Members
I urge you to oppose any action that would hand control of York City’s schools to a private, for-profit corporation – including proposals to convert any or all of the city’s public schools to charter schools.
I urge you to maintain local control of the city’s schools, empowering York’s educators, parents, and community leaders to work together to improve the city’s schools and give every child a shot at success.
Education should not be a money-making scheme. I join York citizens and people everywhere who support high-quality public education in saying: Stop the corporate takeover of York’s public schools!
Email Addresses for School Board Members
- Margie Orr orrma@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Michael Breeland breelmic@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Glenn Medice medicgle@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Michael Miller millemic@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Diane Brown browndia@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Jose Santiago santijos@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Marshall Leonard leonamar@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Sandy Walker walkesan@ycs.k12.pa.us
- Annette Anderson anderann@ycs.k12.pa.us
How can you fight privatization of our public schools at the national level? Vote local! Take NEA’s pledge to vote for pro-public education candidates who support students, educators and public schools.
