Georgia Charter Schools, Vouchers, Urban Voters, Black Politicians, the Democratic Party and Serving Special Interests

Politics makes for strange bedfellows. It also causes otherwise aligned individuals and voting constituencies to suffer the consequences of those political relationships.

For example, African-Americans as a group vote heavily Democratic. African-Americans also heavily populate poorly performing urban schools. Everybody wants to improve our urban schools, or at least everybody talks that way.

Unions are aligned with the Democratic Party. Unions also represent teachers in urban school districts. Teachers unions strongly oppose charter schools and vouchers.

Urban African-Americans parents strongly support charter schools and vouchers as ways to improve the educational opportunities for urban school children. Teachers unions oppose vouchers and charter schools as they would lessen the present power of teachers unions.

Accordingly, something has to give. And since money talks and organized interests are powerful compared to individuals who are unorganized or weakly organized, what will give are the interests of urban African-Americans and educational opportunities for their and other urban children.

Contrary to the 'givers,' the 'takers' are members of public sector teachers unions due to their huge influence on, and financial support of, the Democratic Party.

But perhaps sooner rather than later, however, this inherent conflict between the union influence on the Democratic Party and the best interests of an important ally of the Democratic politicians, urban African-Americans, will have to be addressed and resolved.

And when that happens, We the People will win. All of us other than public sector unions and possibly the Democratic Party, of course.

But now let's go a little deeper into this specific Georgia situation.

Our public schools in most, if not all, large cities are a mess. Everybody accepts that as a fact.

What everybody doesn't agree on, however, is what needs to be done about it. How to make vast and necessary improvements in educational opportunities in our urban schools, in other words.

Black Politicians Ignoring Black Voters tells an interesting story:

"On Election Day earlier this month, voters in Georgia approved a ballot initiative that will expand school choice in a state where one in three high school freshmen fails to graduate in four years. You might consider this progress, but some lawmakers in the state are fighting the new law, which passed 59% to 41%. Even more curious is the fact that black lawmakers are leading the charge.

The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus has announced that it will join a lawsuit to block the expansion of charter schools in the state, even though black voters were strong supporters of the ballot initiative. According to Douglas Blackman, a former Atlanta bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, in the Georgia counties where most African-Americans live, black support for the new law outpaced overall support.

"One of the most striking results of the vote on Amendment 1, which was approved by Georgia voters on Tuesday and creates an independent commission to authorize public charter schools in the state, is the absolutely extraordinary level of support received from African-American voters," Mr. Blackman wrote recently.

"In the 20 Georgia counties where African-Americans make up half or more of the population, the amendment was approved by 61% of all voters and in 14 of those 20 counties. . .. In the 13 counties where more than half of Georgia's three million black citizens live, the margin of support was even higher: 62% approval."

Mr. Blackman concludes that the level of black support "flatly contradicts one of the flimsiest canards used to criticize Amendment 1—and charter schools in general. That is: the idea that somehow charter schools end up hurting minority or poorer students while disproportionately helping white and middle class children."

Mr. Blackman's analysis illustrates the disconnect between the agenda of the black political leadership and the actual concerns of blacks in general and the black underclass in particular. For decades, polls have consistently shown that black parents favor vouchers, charter schools and other options that allow their children to escape a system that consigns poor students to violent, dysfunctional learning environments, even while black lawmakers and civil rights organizations typically have sided with teachers unions that oppose such measures.

Which is to say that these so-called black leaders who oppose school choice are not only wrong on the merits—black children with access to vouchers and charters have better academic outcomes—but also are blatantly ignoring the preferences of their black constituents. To all of the other problems that low-income minorities endure, add derelict political representatives."

SUMMING UP

This is yet another example of the wisdom of watching what politicians and teachers unions do instead of listening to what they say.

Over the years, I've heard a lot of complete and utter B.S. from supposedly concerned citizens and political leaders about their concern for the plight of the urban poor and the quality of the schools they attend.

All too often the only real concern of these political and civic leaders is satisfying their political base -- the teachers unions.

So when it comes to helping improve inner city schools, something has to give. If teachers unions are the driving force, then the best interests of our cities' poor black children will be sacrificed.

The reason is simple. Since the urban poor aren't organized politically nearly as well, if at all, as the teachers unions, they get left holding the bag. Their voting support is secure for the Democratic Party, and they have little economic power, so serving the unions becomes the politicians' priority.

In other words, the Democrats take the black vote for granted.

Thus, don't look for anybody voluntarily to do what's right anytime soon in our urban public school system. There are simply too many powerful special interests lined up in opposition to that desired outcome.

Democrats and unions are joined at the hip and, therefore, Democrats are opposed to anything that would weaken teachers unions. And in case you didn't know, cities vote heavily Democratic every election. Thus, African-American voters have rendered themselves powerless politically when it comes to getting better schools for their children to attend. Sad but true.

Thus, don't hold your breath waiting for charter schools and vouchers to take hold in cities anytime soon.

What the voters prefer won't count, unless and until such time as they get mad as hell and decide not to take it any more.

That day looks like it's a long way off.

Thanks. Bob.