Vote for candidates who oppose 'school choice'

Recently, paid canvassers from a group calling itself "Give Me Choice Waukegan," funded by the right-wing Illinois Policy Institute, have been knocking on doors around Waukegan to promote so-called "school choice."

I moved to Waukegan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee has had school choice since 1990, longer than any other city in the United States. If school choice is such a good thing, then Milwaukee's schools should be great, right? Wrong. As many problems as our Waukegan schools have, Milwaukee's schools are even worse. In fact, Milwaukee schools are considered among the worst in the country.

Why? Dividing taxpayers' hard-earned money among public, private, and religious schools is a recipe for failure. The disaster in Milwaukee shows that school choice is a bad deal for students and families.

My daughters graduated from Waukegan High School in 2012 and 2014. Both are currently attending college. While our family had many frustrating experiences with Waukegan's schools, my daughters had some excellent teachers, especially in the bilingual program.

Waukegan's schools are unquestionably in need of change, but school choice is not the answer.

What is? First, parental involvement. Parents need to take responsibility for their children's education.

Second, vote! We have an elected school board. If we're not happy with the board members' performance, we can replace them. Unlike unaccountable private and religious schools, our public schools belong to us. We are the ones who can make them better.

On Tuesday, we have a chance to do just that by voting for Jesus Ruiz and Domingo "Sonny" Garza, the two candidates for District 60 school board who have put themselves on the record against so-called "school choice," and for quality public schools.

David Palmer

Waukegan