Column for July 1, 2010

Those of you who follow me on the internet know that I have become a fan of Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. The more I see of Governor Christie standing up to political correctness, special interest groups, and labor unions, the more excited I get. When I see him being responsive to the reason he was elected, i.e., cut the budget, decrease spending, and restore the state of New Jersey to fiscal sanity, the more I love what I see.

One recent video had Chris Christie speaking at a town hall type meeting in which he was confronted by a school teacher. The teacher chastised the governor for cutting the education budget in New Jersey, much like we are facing here in North Carolina. The teacher, who asserted that she loved what she did for a profession was informed that if she did not like the pay scale, she could go find another job and that teachers know the wage scale before ever taking the job. I absolutely loved that answer and applaud him for it. Will we ever see that sort of bravado here in North Carolina? I seriously doubt it.

Public schools are a product of government. Since government has been bloated and allowed to grow unchecked over the years, I wholeheartedly suspect that school budgets are no different. Here in North Carolina, we have seen the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) complain about budget cuts. We have seen the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Crazy People) unfoundedly whine about "resegregation" when Wake County and now Wayne County have been moving to community based schools to not only save money but to restore common sense to school administration.

In Charlotte, there is debate over the merits of public pre-kindergarten education. Whatever happened to parental responsibility? Why is it the job of the populace to supply a babysitting service to four-year-olds? We have Smart Start, More at Four, and various other failed programs with a huge price tag. Why should anyone want his or her four-year-old placed a publicly funded education program other than to take advantage of free daycare?

Do you want to know what government thinks about looking after toddlers? The State of North Carolina wants to make it a crime to: "serve sugar-sweetened beverages to children of any age; serve whole milk to children two years of age or older; serve flavored milk to any child; serve more than six ounces of juice to any child regardless of age or how long the child is cared for." This is how government wants to intrude into private daycare center operations with House Bill 1726, which has already passed one vote. How much worse would it be in a public institution? Is this the sort of government control you want over your children? Is this the sort of government you want to live under?

I was intrigued by a news story I read about neighboring Wake County. That school district is in search of a new Superintendent of Schools after their old one whined about the direction of the newly elected school board. What I found interesting is that the county may not hire someone with an education background to be the next superintendent. The next leader there may be a businessman or former military leader.

As Governor Christie said in an interview, it is not the educators in his state that hate him, it is the education labor unions. They have created a society of entitlement for their constituency under the guise of being "for the children" in order to pad their membership roles. This of course leads to more union income. It is precisely that mentality that has been rampant in our school systems and why I would love to see someone with a background in business hired to run schools with a much higher degree of efficiency.

I work in private industry and we have to run with efficiency every day. We deal with budget and manpower cuts regularly and still produce for our customers and shareholders. We the taxpayers are the investors and shareholders in our public school system. We should expect a high rate of return on our investment. In order to cut down on public expenditure, I have openly offered to take the job of Superintendent of Schools in Johnston County for half the pay we are currently giving someone with a background in "education".

Think about this for a moment. Do you really want the "milk police" controlling what your child drinks? Do you want a law that regulates how much fruit juice your toddler is allowed to have? Do you want the same government controlling our children's education at age four or at any age?