Monday, April 24, 2006

Ah the High Price for Privatization: District will pay the price for error

Reported in the Las Vegas SUN: District will pay the price for error, Clark County will probably have to eat nearly 2 million dollars of the 5 million it overpaid Edison Schools, a private contractor that is managing schools in a number of American cities.

The idea behind privatization is that by turning over management of schools to private corporations many of the bureaucratic restrictions placed on school districts by political bodies can be bypassed, union contracts can be avoided, and student performance will, in turn, increase as a result of administrative freedom to do as they please. The price of education on a per pupil basis is reduced so that the district, generally strapped for cash because schools, especially urban schools, are underfunded by the very politicians that create the expensive restrictions on those districts in the first place, can save money and still point to adequate education for students in the district.

But then, there must be competent oversight. My goodness, will the officials that signed the checks in Clark County pay a price for their lack of proper management? I somehow doubt it.

Zoundry

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