Gubernatorial Candidate, Eric Johnson, Speaks to Bulloch County Rotary Club

November 5, 2009

"Friends,

As you know, I have long held a passion for transforming the way we educate our children. I am firmly convinced that our children are too valuable and their futures too important for us to fail in our efforts to make Georgia’s educational system world class.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the Bulloch County Rotary lunch. Below, you can find a copy the remarks I shared with them. Political pundits and campaign experts would probably say I should shorten it up, but this issue is too important for 10 second sound bites or one paragraph summaries. That’s why I’m forwarding the entire speech. I hope you’ll take the time to read it or save it for when you have a few spare minutes.

Together, by tackling the tough issues like education, we can make Georgia even better. Thank you for being part of that effort.

We look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail soon.

Yours for a better Georgia,
“Better Schools = More Jobs”
Statesboro Rotary Club
Sen. Eric Johnson
I have been able to travel to China and India over the last three years. I have witnessed firsthand the future that will challenge America’s economic might. The U.S. produces 70,000 engineers each year. India is producing 350,000. China? 600,000! We are in a war for our future. The victor will not be determined on the battlefield – it will be determined in the classroom.

In the international race for knowledge, students in 24 of the 30 industrialized nations, including Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic, beat students in the United States in math. 20 of those countries topped America in science. (We did beat Mexico and Turkey.) And Georgia’s schools are near the bottom of every U.S. ranking. The race for knowledge – and the prosperity that comes with it – does not end at our borders with South Carolina or Alabama. Georgia must close the achievement gap with the rest of world to succeed in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Most of us in this room probably attended public schools. We benefited from parental involvement, tough curriculum and no social promotion. We got grades and not smiley faces.

We went to detention if we misbehaved a little. We were grounded if our report cards weren’t good. Parents monitored homework assignments. Principals ran the school and teachers ruled the classroom. Things are different today. Increasingly, bureaucrats in Washington tell bureaucrats in Atlanta what to tell bureaucrats in Bulloch County what to tell teachers to teach. Parents and teachers have little input.

It should be no surprise then that, today, parents complain about the declining quality of education that their children receive and the increasing dangers that they face. Teachers complain about the atmosphere they are forced to teach in and the bureaucratic and legal restrictions placed upon them. And taxpayers complain about growing costs and the lack of an educated workforce. Parents and teachers and taxpayers and employers all want “change”.

In many classrooms, “high tech” means a white board. Too many classrooms are a “computer free zone”. This is out of synch with our digitized world where text messaging and video games are common and “google” is a verb. There is more computing power in a student’s backpack than in most classrooms. Many of our schools are an 8-track tape player in an iPod world.

We have a few great public schools, some good schools, but most are just OK. We have many great, dedicated teachers and some that aren’t so great. But, by any measure, our public schools – and by the way – our private schools, too – could be so much better.

I am tired of mediocrity. Georgians are tired of our rankings. We cannot afford to tweak the system anymore. We cannot wait any longer. Georgia must improve our schools! Improving Georgia’s schools – including making the good schools even better – requires focus and truth-telling. Better schools will equal more jobs and a brighter future.

Improving our schools will require a multi-pronged attack. Yes, funding is an issue (but not the only one by any means). Recruiting, training and retaining good teachers is another. Improving curriculum and maintaining discipline is critical. Increasing technology in the classroom is imperative. We need to respect local control and reduce the bureaucracy in Atlanta and at the local level. And we must use good data to track student achievement and improve methods of grading schools so that parents and taxpayers have accurate information to make good decisions. Finally, we must increase the options that are available to our children – particularly in failing schools.
Every child – regardless of income – must have the ability to receive the very best education possible
whether in their neighborhood school, a charter school, a magnet school, a home school, a virtual school, or a private school. To do that, we must “personalize” their education.

If we want to provide the highest quality education for every child, then we must put the individual child’s needs above the interest of the government and the ego of those who run schools. We must put the children FIRST, not the bureaucracy. This is the KEY to all reform and the one I want to focus on today.

Unfortunately, most children now are forced to attend a school based on where they live – based on a GPS coordinate. Imagine if we delivered health care this way?! What if we said that, if you live in a certain neighborhood, you must go to a specific hospital or doctor and receive the pre-determined care established by bureaucrats in Atlanta and Washington? People would revolt.

Competition works. It built America. And it can make us even stronger. But, for the market to work, you have to have choice. I think Georgia can have the best schools in the United States. This will take boldness and courage and faith in the principles that built our nation.

Georgia spends an astonishing $135,000 for each child to go through our public schools. We are 2nd in the southeast (behind Virginia) and 19th nationally in spending on our K-12 schools on a per capita basis. And Georgia teachers are the highest paid in the southeast. So, it’s NOT all about money. It’s about improving outcomes. It’s about training our children to succeed. It’s about awakening the unique spirit within every child. It’s about CHOICE!

Competition is good for students, teachers, employers and taxpayers!

I believe that parents should have the freedom to decide where and how their children should be educated and not the government. This is the heart of the debate.

Did you know that there are 19 schools in Georgia that have been on the “Needs Improvement” list for more than 7 consecutive years? Or that there are 8 High Schools that have failed to graduate more than 50% of their students for 3 years in a row? And that 1 county in Georgia was the first in America in over 40 years to lose their accreditation? What do we do about those children? Why should we continue to fund failure?! If the local officials – or the state – have clearly failed in their duties, control must shift to the parents. These are their children. This is their money.

America has the best universities in the world. Why? The GI Bill allowed soldiers returning from World War II to pick the college of their choice. Georgia has some of the best universities in America. Why? Our HOPE Scholarships! What is the common denominator? Both programs allow the money to follow the student to the school of their choice and the schools compete for the students and their tuition. I admired Zell Miller’s focus on education. Many forget how controversial his HOPE proposal was. It barely passed the General Assembly and the statewide referendum, but it has been a HUGE success. We can do the same thing with K-12!
My plan is simple, but bold. Georgia spends an average of $10,500 per child in public school. About $5,000 of that comes from the state and about $5,000 comes from local property taxes. $500 comes from the federal government. I want to offer EarlyHOPE Scholarships to every single child in Georgia’s public schools. These scholarships would allow parents to use the state’s portion of the funding – their own money, by the way - toward any school they can get their child into – public or private, religious or secular. Every child would have access to the best school possible and private schools would remain independent. In addition, this will leave local funds in place to either return to property taxpayers or to increase spending on the remaining students in local public schools. It doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime.

The opponents raise two important questions….

Question #1: Will this harm our good public schools?

Nobody should worry! Public schools are a treasured part of American society and, in many cases, offer a quality education for our children. My mother was a teacher and a librarian. I am a public school graduate. Both of my children attended public schools and they got a good education. It launched one into law and one into the ministry. I also served as an officer in the PTA. I am a strong public school supporter. This vision is about making ALL schools better!

It’s hard to argue that the “voucher kids” wouldn’t be better off. The issue is whether the children of parents who don’t use the scholarships are better off. Milwaukee has had vouchers for 20 years. Cleveland, Washington, DC, and Florida have vouchers. It has been well researched. 16 of 17 major studies have determined that the children in schools that are exposed to vouchers do better than students in schools that have no choice. The schools work harder to improve to keep the students from walking out the door. The 17th study showed NO difference. Why? As business leaders, you know the answer….the free market improves outcomes. Competition makes you stronger.

Thirty years ago, the Japanese challenged the U. S. car industry. Ford now makes a better vehicle to keep their customers from buying a Toyota. If the government required every American to own a Ford, can you imagine how bad that car would be?! Remember when there was just one phone company? Do you think we would have the iPhone today if Ma Bell was still a government regulated monopoly? Why would we expect a different outcome with education?

Question #2: Will this reduce funding for public education?

School choice programs do not drain money from public schools. They leave more money behind to educate fewer students. It’s simple math. If 10% of the students in a system take advantage of the EarlyHOPE Scholarships, then local school property taxes can be reduced by 10% or local spending per pupil can be increased by 10%. Of course, class sizes are reduced by 10%, also.

Better test scores. Higher parent satisfaction. More spending on public education. And no tax increase. Sounds too good to be true. So, Eric, why haven’t we done this? Good question….

Unfortunately, there is a very vocal minority who fight change and defend the status quo. The people that run our public schools tell us that choice is bad – that charter schools are unfair – that homeschooling is dangerous – and all they need is for taxpayers to spend more money and things will get better. They argue this in spite of the fact that, between 1960 and 2005, adjusted for inflation, spending on education per pupil has almost quadrupled. Not a single independent study says that spending more will result in better schools. Not one!

The bureaucracy clearly feels superior to parents and teachers and firmly believe that they – and they alone –can make the best choices for OUR children. They self-righteously assume that parents – particularly poor parents – are not capable of making good decisions on their own. Listen to them carefully on this subject. They never explain why, if the public school system is doing such a splendid job, it needs to fear competition.

In fact, the question shouldn’t be: “What happens to the system if a child is allowed to leave?” It should always be – “What happens to the child if they are forced to stay?” It should ALWAYS be about the child – and never about the school system!

This resistance to change in the face of overwhelming evidence that change is needed is –
in the words of President Bush’s Secretary of Education – “educational malpractice”.

Let me speak about teachers for a minute. Competition will benefit this profession, too. More choices for students means more choices for teachers. Every year, bright teachers stream into the classroom. Half of them leave before working 5 years. Most leave because they are dissatisfied and frustrated. Good teachers will be in demand – whether in public schools or by private schools. The free market will drive up salaries for good teachers.

Now, let me talk to the parents with children in good public schools: This not about your child. You have made a good decision about where to live and where to educate your child. This is all about the child in the back of the classroom who is struggling to keep up. Shouldn’t the parents of that child have the freedom to choose their own child’s school – not the government? A choice to leave should not be seen as an attack on public schools, but simply recognition that all children are individuals and a different school might more closely meet the needs of the student.

Ultimately, this is not about “good” schools and “bad” schools – it’s about placing each child in the best environment to learn. And it’s about improving customer service for those who stay.
This brings me to the final argument for school choice. Almost everybody agrees that a lack of parental involvement is the main problem we face today. If we offered every parent $5,000 to use at any school they can get their child into, don’t you think they would get a little more involved? Wouldn’t they at least take a look at what options are available? Wouldn’t they look more closely at the school their child was in? They might decide to stay … or they might decide to leave. But they will have become more involved in their child’s education.

If we have learned anything from the past 30 years, it is that increasing spending is insufficient and that federal intervention doesn’t help. We must take matters into our own hands. In the future, the best schools will be in states and communities that embrace educational entrepreneurship!

We shouldn’t be trying to raise our test scores above South Carolina’s. Georgia should be trying to raise them above South Korea’s! That kind of success will only be created by the marketplace, not a monopoly. If we offer every parent the freedom to choose the best school and allow the funding to follow each child to their chosen school, Georgia will skyrocket up the educational rankings.

This is THE issue facing Georgia. We can’t solve Georgia’s water problem without scientists. We can’t fix traffic if our children cannot do the math needed to be an engineer. We cannot create alternative fuels if they don’t understand chemistry or physics.

We are at a crossroad. Advances in technology, science, medicine and engineering offer Georgia citizens a future of prosperity and a better quality of life. But, to reap these rewards, we must tackle education reform."

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