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Leading Democratic presidential contender, US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) wants to destroy charter schools.
Bernie “wants to destroy the best schools poor urban kids have,” the liberal Intelligencer charges. In fact, the Intelligencer claims, “the best-managed charter systems produce dramatically better outcomes for low-income urban children, than the same students receive in neighborhood schools.”
To clarify, Bernie’s new education plan includes a ban on “for-profit” charter schools and a temporary ban on the use of government money to fund nonprofit charter schools, Vox reports. Sanders is not however, proposing a total ban on charter schools.
Can Bernie Destroy Charter Schools?
Instead, Sanders plans to deprive charter schools of tax money, which will halt most of their operations. Charter schools are independent government-chartered schools that receive state or local tax money.
Generally, charter schools offer alternative teaching and education methods that public schools do not offer. Many charter schools follow traditional educational standards. Some charter schools offer an experimental or nontraditional curriculum.
On the other hand, local and state governments regulate most charter schools. Therefore, the President has no authority to destroy them.
Congress however, can kill charter schools by denying federal funding to school districts or states that charter them. The Constitution gives Congress, not the president control over federal funds.
Will Bernie Help Teacher’s Unions Destroy Charter Schools?
Many teachers’ unions dislike charter schools because they are usually nonunion. Bernie is listening to the teacher’s unions because they are a powerful force in Democratic politics.
In fact, 44.9% of America’s public middle and elementary teachers were union members in 2017, The 74 million estimates. In addition, 50.2% of public high school teachers belonged to unions in 2017.
Since the National Center for Education Statistics estimates there were 3.1 million public school teachers in America in 2018, there could be between 1.4 million and 1.5 million teachers’ union members.
Therefore, Bernie is trying to win unionized teachers’ votes by killing charter schools. He also plans to tap teachers for money because his campaign relies on small individual donations.
Bernie Could Win The Democratic Presidential Nomination
Supporters of alternatives to public education need to pay attention, because Bernie could be the next Democratic Presidential nominee.
Sanders leads the Democratic primary pack in the April Emerson Poll with 29% of the vote. In fact, Sanders beat Vice President Joe Biden (D-Delaware) by 5 percentage points.
Sanders also beat the number three contender, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-South Bend, Indiana), by 20 percentage points. To clarify, Emerson claims 24% of probable Democratic voters favor Biden and 9% favor Buttigieg.
Bernie Is The Democratic Front Runner
Therefore, media outlets as diverse as The Wall Street Journal and MSNBC label Sanders the Democratic front runner.
The Wall Street Journal estimates Sanders raised $18 million in the first six weeks of his campaign. Which means, Sanders could have the money to win the Democratic primary.
Finally, legendary Republican strategist, Karl Rove, thinks Bernie could beat President Donald J. Trump (R-New York) in the 2020 presidential race. In fact, Rove,; the man who led George W. Bush’s (R-Texas) two successful presidential campaigns, labels Sanders “a serious contender.”
Recently, Rove says of Sanders “He did a good job of softening the edges of socialism,” on Fox & Friends. In addition, Rove says “Mr. Sanders’ philosophy: resentment, grievance, and a desire to take from those who have and redistribute the wealth, all to expand government,” Vox reports.
