How far would you go to provide a quality education for your child? One mother in Ohio is now sitting behind bars because of the lengths she went to just to get her children into a decent government school. Essentially, she used her father's address for the children so that they could attend the government schools in his district. The mother claims to live part-time with her father. But when confronted about the issue, officials say that the father filed false court documents to help his daughter and his grandchildren get around the system. The Copley-Fairlawn School District says that the woman was "cheating" because he children received a good education without paying the taxes to fund it. School officials say, "Those dollars need to stay home with our students," school district officials said.

Well you heard me rant about school choice before. For the life of me I can't understand why ordinary citizens are so frightened of the idea or the concept of allowing parents to take a look at several competing schools, and then deciding which one they're going to send their children to. In many European school systems the money follows the child. Yes, the property owners still pay school taxes. But parents are allowed to look at several schools in the area in which they live, decide which school has the best curriculum or the price-performance records to suit the needs of their child. Then they enroll their child in that particular school. Space the taxing authorities then send the money to follow the child to the specific school. Naturally the schools want to attract the students, and knowing that the parents have a choice, and will base that choice on performance and the quality of the product, the schools strive to perform. Performance means survival. Failure means you don't attract the students and teaching jobs are lost. In America though, the child follows the money. You pay your taxes, the taxes are sent to a specific school, and then you are instructed to send your child chasing after that tax money to that specific school. The teachers and administrators in that school know that their jobs are more or less guaranteed based upon the population density in their particular school attendance area. Space teachers, of course, are scared to death of the idea of school choice. They are frightened because they know that they then have to perform, much like a private business owner has to perform, in order to attract customers - students. Here's an example of just how frightened the government school teachers become when the idea of school choice is on the table. This is a letter to the editors of the Naples Daily News.

"I am a Collier County Public schools teacher and I am confused. Why would any public high school band choose to travel and play at the inauguration of a governor who wants to undermine public school education by reintroducing vouchers? Perhaps private schools, which would be the beneficiaries of our tax dollars should Gov. Rick Scott succeed, are more appropriate invitees."

So there you go, a government school teacher who clearly does not want to compete with the private sector when it comes to educating children. Space this government school teacher prefers coercion. Make the child go to the government school. Space do not allow a private school to enter into competition with the almighty government. Just take the money away from the parents, send it to the school, and tell the child to follow. Is it any wonder American children score so low compared to so many other countries when it comes to learning skills and basic knowledge.