Ed Supe candidate Huppenthal: And by public education, I mean private education.

by David Safier

Our latest Floridation of Arizona Education move is to create a constitutionally sanctioned voucher system. Florida had one. The students in private schools performed no better than those is public schools. And it was ruled unconstitutional and tossed out. But never mind details. We need one too.

Huppenthal wants to import the voucher system here, by changing our constitution.

On a 3-2 vote Wednesday night, the Senate Committee on Education Accountability and Reform approved sending a measure to the ballot that would allow the state to give tax-funded vouchers to parents whose students are attending schools which the state Department of Education has labeled as "failing.'' The amount of that voucher would be whatever the state would have given to the public school or the amount of the private school's tuition and fees, whichever is less.

But the wording of the measure actually would open the door wider: It seeks to repeal an entire section of the Arizona Constitution which specifically bars the use of public dollars "in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school.''

If this passes, any child could get state money to go to any private school. That includes religious schools, of course, which make up about 80% of Arizona's private schools (The numbers are similar nationwide). No more of that tuition tax credit work-around. The money would go straight from the public coffers to private schools.

And that's all right with John Huppenthal, who wants to be our next Ed Supe. Better than all right. He loves the idea.

Because, he says, private schools are public schools. So is home schooling.

[Huppenthal] said the public education system consists not only of traditional district schools and charter schools but also private schools and even parents who teach their youngsters at home.

So let's all vote for a Superintendent of Public Education who thinks "public" means "private." Great idea.

At what grade level will NewSpeak education be required if he wins, I wonder. "Today, children, we will learn that Up is Down. Next week, the topic will be, War is Peace. And for your final exam, you will be required to understand that Freedom is Slavery."

UPDATE: More vocabulary lessons from Big Brother John. If a school isn't doing a good job, it's not really a school.

“If your district’s school is failing to educate you, you as a member of the public … have the right to an education,” Huppenthal said. “Obviously you’re not getting an education at a failing school so it’s probably incorrect to even call it a public school. A failing school is not really a school.”

By that definition, Arizona doesn't really have a legislature. Or a governor.