Guest Commentary: Colorado Springs Gazette Wants State to Take K12 Inc.'s Advice and Let Money Follow the Student

The Colorado Springs Gazette took a bold stand. It said that the money the states allocates for each public school student should follow that student, no matter what school the students attends.
"School choice, the modern wave of education, is always under attack by the establishment. New schools threaten the old union-controlled, one-size-fits-all government education monopoly," the editorial board wrote.
"Those who liked the old way simply don’t like anything about the new way
A three-part investigative series that began running in last Sunday’s Gazette pointed out concerns about online government schools that deserve serious attention from politicians and the general public. An at-home, online education is exactly what a small percentage of students need. But it’s not for everyone, and it is probably not for most.
"When a student abandons an online school, the online school often keeps the state tuition cash. Colorado bases school funding on a single enrollment count. Once the count has been taken, the money is allocated and belongs to the school even if students soon thereafter," the editorial continued.
"That means another school ends up with former online students, but not the tuition.
"The administration of Colorado’s largest online public school, Colorado Virtual Academy, agrees that online schools should not keep the money.
" 'Colorado should move away form a school-funding model based on a single-count date to a better model, such as an average daily membership,'  said Jeff Kwitowski in a statement to The Gazette’s editorial board. He’s the vice president for public affairs for K12, the curriculum provider for Colorado Virtual Academy."
Click here to read the complete editorial.