The Freedom Trip Wire

by Ken Blackwell - September 13th, 2007 - Townhall.com

For many liberals and conservatives, the pivotal battleground this election season isn't Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina. It's Utah. There, a fight over the state's universal K-12 school choice program portends to be the trip wire for the school choice movement across the country.

Utah is the location of the fault line between those who would prod conventional public schools out of their mediocrity and those 21st century Luddites who will protect the status quo to their death. The latter group's battle cry is, "Entrenched bureaucracy forever!"

We have plenty of examples of this attitude among the school educrats here in Bertie County. I cannot imagine a more effective process of gaining power for our parents and children than the options for educational excellence that are being proposed in Utah.

We need to get all the changes proposed to increase competition and excellence in our shools; charter schools, teacher compensation based on student achievement, vouchers for poor children as well as freedom to choose another public school where the teachers are succeeding (both within the county and without). Competition. It is what we need to get back to the excellent schools we had 50 years ago.