Education. The Rich Get Richer. The Poor, Well, Who Cares?

Lee Davidson and JTC present an informative piece on differences between schools on the east (richer) and west (poorer) sides of Salt Lake County.

Teachers on the east side have more experience and higher degrees. Those are the two factors used to differentiate pay among teachers. Thus, the better teachers (districts’ criteria, not mine) – the ones with better options – prefer the richer schools. And, there, they deliver a superior product.

So, rich kids are offered a better public education than poor kids.

However, if the superior public education of the rich kids is not superior enough, their folks can afford to send them to private school. Good for them. It’s nice to have options.

But, if the inferior public education of the poor kids is not good enough for them, well, that’s just too bad. Let them eat school lunch.

This is why we need vouchers. Vouchers give options to people of limited means. Customers with options get better results. This is why I bristled at the Senate Education Committee when the good Senator from Holladay informed us that her constituents just don’t like vouchers. Good for them. It’s nice to be rich.