LONDONDERRY — There is a considerable amount of misinformation floating around about the impact of Act 46 on school choice, which I would like to address directly.
But first, I need to start with a point of clarification on terminology.
Folks in our area are very familiar with the concept of school choice, and know exactly what we are talking about when we speak of “school choice.”
It is a tradition that many of our communities have had for well over a century - the opportunity to choose what schools we want to send our children to for high school (and in some towns, elementary school), whether it be a public school (Green Mountain, Leland & Gray, etc.) or an independent school (Burr & Burton Academy, Long Trail School, etc.).
There is, however, a far-more-restricted flavor of “choice” that is more widely available, but extremely limited in nature - i.e., students can attend only public schools, and there are limits on the number of students who can move between school districts.
In my view, this latter example is not real school choice; it would be much more appropriately termed “restricted school choice.”
In my view, if you cannot attend the school of your choice, you don't really have school choice.
When I refer to “school choice,” I am talking about the historical form of school choice that we all know well, not the restricted version.
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I have been one of the strongest supporters of school choice in the Statehouse and believe firmly in the right of a community to make its own decision about whether it wants to offer school choice or operate its own public school.
Neither option is right or wrong. They are just different options.
Every community is unique and has its own philosophy, and the wishes of that community should be honored. In very simple terms, a school district has the option to operate a public school, and if it chooses not to (e.g., by closing its public school), it effectively becomes a school-choice district.
But while a school district can control whether it offers choice or operates a school, it cannot do both concurrently for the same grades. That has always been the case, and Act 46 does nothing to change existing law in that respect.
Act 46 sets out a process that will lead to the merger of school districts across the state, and this detail is where some of the concern and misinformation have come from.
A few districts (outside of our area) have expressed interest in pursuing accelerated mergers (i.e., within the next year) of choice districts with non-choice districts.
They attempted to structure themselves in a manner that would allow for the continued operation of public schools, while also offering school choice to all students within the merged district.
This scenario was not permissible under the law before Act 46, and it is not permissible under Act 46.
Unfortunately, it generated the scary headlines, and much of the reporting of this issue failed to go into detail about the permissible merger scenarios that will allow these communities to continue doing exactly what they are doing today.
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Act 46 actually contemplates and provides options for districts to merge on a like-with-like basis, and any merger will ultimately be decided by a vote of the community. No town with choice will be forced to merge with a district that operates a school (which would eliminate choice), unless the voters of the town want to do so.
From discussions with local school boards in our area, I am quite certain that there is practically zero interest in considering any merger option that would have the effect of eliminating choice.
For that reason, boards in those towns are talking to other districts that have similar choice arrangements, with the goal of developing merger scenarios that maximize financial incentives, while preserving school choice.
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If you have doubts or concerns, be sure to speak with your school board members to make sure they understand what you want to see in your community.
Act 46 will usher in a major transformation of our education system, and every community should view this as an opportunity to reimagine what kind of education system it wants to see in their region.
Some communities that have choice might decide that it makes more sense for them to work in partnership with neighboring communities that operate public schools, and relinquish school choice.
I don't see that happening in our area, but there are parts of the state where students in choice towns do not have the diversity of schools we have in our area, and it might be more practical to become part of a district where all students already attend school.
On the other hand, some communities with public schools that are struggling with dwindling enrollment might see benefits of moving to a school-choice model.
Now is the time to start learning more about the options and to start engaging in this important process.