What is the Future of Public Schools?

Mission Viejo is fortunate to have non-political parents who are leaders for public education. These are not the city council majority members who posture at meetings and talk about education only to further their political careers. One of Mission Viejo’s parent leaders sent the following link about the increasing turmoil in public schools:

http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/11496/Taking_the_Parent_out_of_the_National_PTAan_ exclusive_interview_with_Charlene_K_Haar.html

From the article: “PTA parents in general are concerned about what’s happening at their local schools, and the PTA leadership at the local schools deserves a great deal of praise: They do all of the work and raise all of the money that supports the state organization as well as the national organization. They get very little in return, except to see that their work is making a difference at their local schools.”

When Charlene K. Haar (author, “The Politics of the PTA”) was conducting research about schools, she received an accusatory letter from a PTA headquarters when she asked about the organization’s nonprofit tax return. It said her intentions appeared suspicious. After receiving the letter, Haar stepped up her research efforts.

Haar reviewed the decline in PTA membership. In 1965, the PTA had more than 12 million members. By 2003, it had less than half that number, despite dues of $1.75.

From the article: “[In the 1960s] the NEA decided to transform itself into a teacher union like its rival, the American Federation of Teachers. It was a time of great turmoil in the school systems, with many, many strikes for various and sundry reasons, with parents unsure of whether to side with the school administrators or the teachers.

“Although the PTA had moved out of the NEA headquarters in 1953, there was still a very close relationship between them. Many teachers were leaders in the PTA, just as they are today. The NEA let it be known that if PTAs continued to support the school board during teacher strikes, the NEA would pull its teachers out and start a competing organization. The PTA was afraid of losing members, and so, in 1968, the PTA Board of Directors--not the membership--set a policy declaring that, in teacher strikes, the PTA would not oppose the teachers and the teachers’ union. This eliminated parental support for the administration.

“Up to that point in time, administrators had made the majority of the decisions in dealing with school functions. But when the teacher union came in, union contracts affected not only the terms and conditions of the teachers but also other school operations parents were interested in, such as teacher assignments. Parents still are interested in these other issues, but local PTAs can no longer provide any support to parents who wish to challenge union positions. In fact, a few years ago at the NEA convention, NEA President Keith Geiger reminded the PTA that its locals were bound by PTA policy not to challenge the teacher union positions in collective bargaining.”

Other insight from Haar:

“The PTA came out strongly against a private school tax credit bill that was proposed in the U.S. Congress in 1977. They’re very much opposed to vouchers and tax credits of any kind, and even private schooling itself. They’re not keen on home schooling, either, and that is the ultimate in parental involvement. With charter schools, the PTA wants the same or more oversight as the regular public school system. In fact, they have adopted the same negative position about charter schools as the NEA.”

Haar’s advice to parents:

“… go to our Web site at www.educationpolicy.org, where I have placed general directions. Or, better yet, go to PTOToday.com and enjoy visiting with others who have disaffiliated from the PTA and started independent parent-teacher organizations.”