Rural schools have little to fear from school choice

Washington Post:
Where ‘school choice’ isn’t an option, rural public schools worry they’ll be left behind

In northern Maine, public schools struggle with what they fear will be Washington’s focus on vouchers and charters. “If you shut down schools,” said superintendent Eric Steeves, “you destroy a town.”
This sounds like an irrational scare tactic by the public school lobby.  School only lose money when parents send their child to another school.  If there are none, them how do they lose money?  I have seen this same fear story pushed in Texas where the state legislature is considering a school choice bill.  Its biggest impact will be on failing schools in the inner city where parents can send their child to another public school which is better or use an education voucher to pay a portion of the bill for a private school.

Ultimately the competition for students should improve education quality and stop the retention of teachers who are not doing their jobs.

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