PLATFORM : School Choice

As a businessman, I know that lack of competition results in higher costs and lower performance.

This is why we need choice in schooling. Not just among public schools but between public and private schools. Choice leads to competition, which in turn increases accountability and expectations. Better performance--that is, improved learning by our children--will follow.

At the college level, where schools compete for students on a nationwide level, U.S. education is the envy of the world. Much of this competition results from government funding of public and private schooling. The success of the G.I. Bill is legendary, and it’s only one of several federal programs. Here in California, state tuition grants for private schooling--Cal Grants--protect the state college and university systems from collapse through overload and stimulate competition between schools.

Competition works in business. It works in higher education. Put it to work for all our children.