Education is not a business

I have public school teachers in my family. It's not that ending taxpayer funding for education and allowing real and free choices in education will solve all problems. It is that it would be better than what we have now. We have too many students in those schools who do not want to be there or should not be there. We are graduating too many without really preparing them for anything. We are spending too much educating the citizens of other countries who are here illegally.

Because everyone pays to support these schools, even if they are childless, everyone has an interest in how they are run. This leads to endless squabbles over everything from science class curriculum to dress codes to what electives will be offered to discipline to health clinics to what will be in the vending machines to what clubs will be allowed to whether or not we can refer to "mom and dad" in the classroom to zero tolerance policies to the Pledge of Allegiance... on and on. Enough! Stop making me pay for schools my family will not use and that are not helping to create the kind of citizens I think this country needs. Allow me to keep my money and give my children an education that I can support.

Will some kids not get a good education because their parents won't care or won't have the time to care? Yes. But I think it will be far fewer kids than are going through that now.

I don't use public transportation yet my taxes go to support it. Without public transit, many of the workers of whose services I depend would not make it to work and would be unable to serve me.

Public Schools serve entire communities whether or not one has a child in school. Schools provide for the children of many service workers communities depend on. Will retirees be willing to bag their own groceries, fight fires, provide medical services, etc to stop having to pay for schools? I seriously doubt it.

I understand the Libertarian views for less government, but they fail to understand or allow for the community interest. If a local community wishes to provide public schools for its members, it should be allowed to do so. If the State government wishes to provide communities with funds at the behest of the majority of the State, it should be allowed to do so.....but with no strings attached. Allow the local community to determine its own needs and tailor the public schools to meet those needs.