My View: School Choice in Rural Districts

Bill Lee, Director of School Leadership Managment, Facilities &Transportation Services, Washington County; Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA) President

I have spent over 40 years in public education in Florida as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal (22 years) and district staff administrator (12 years and counting). My experience has all been in small and rural districts. One could describe me as a true believer in the value of public education and the opportunities it affords to the children and families who live in these areas. These school districts and the schools within them provide students with the best opportunity to move beyond their present circumstances and stations in life.

Over the last few years, it seems that many elected leaders have chosen to ignore the value of schools and the work they do in preparing students for the future. Instead they focus on non-traditional educational programs like charter schools, virtual education programs, home education and other “schools of choice.” What I would really like for these elected officials to understand is that the “school of choice” for most of the people living in rural areas is the brick and mortar school that is located in their community. The community school is supported by the local citizens who live there.

Believe it or not, most people living in small, rural communities want their children to attend their community-based schools. 

In the majority of areas, the public school is the centerpiece of the entire community, often there is no town around the school. Some are PreK-12 schools, while others are in communities with an elementary school and a combination middle and high school located adjacent to each other. Many students who attend these schools are 3rd and 4th generation students from families who also attended the same school.

It is also a reality that many homes in these rural areas have limited access to reliable internet services such as broadband internet. Therefore, students are unable to connect to the internet for virtual school classes or other electronic learning opportunities. Another reality in rural areas that students are living below the poverty level with grandparents, single-parent families or with extended families. Many are unable to afford the internet services, even if it is available. While it may be true that “school choice” allows student more opportunities, it is a proven fact that the schools in most rural areas do a great job in preparing students to move to the next phase in their lives. 

Because of the size, locations, and limited access to other resources such as corporate partnerships, large-scale community support programs, readily accessible high-tech industries, and similar support systems, small districts face greater challenges than larger districts in providing the broad range of educational opportunities to prepare students for the work in the 21st century.

Given this fact, any reductions in already strained resources have a disproportionate impact on small districts. Because students live in widely scattered areas in rural districts, transportation costs consume more of the budget to get students to and from school than a typical urban district. All in all, a reduction in the funding provided to the rural districts through the state FEFP program is very harmful to the smaller districts of our state. 

In spite of these challenges, I personally know many school leaders and teachers who work in these schools from across Florida and they can name many, many students who have graduated from their schools and gone on to become successful business leaders, doctors, lawyers, engineers, nurses, and educators in their communities. Their graduates work across the nation and around the world. In fact, I can name at least 15 former students that are currently principals, assistant principals, district staff administrators. Our schools produce students that choose to enter the workforces in their local areas as trained electricians, plumbers, carpenters, secretaries, bank employees, retail business managers and other similar occupations. Without a doubt, each one of our schools have graduates that choose to further their careers in the service of our country in the Army, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force, or Coast Guard. 

As a lifelong educator, I fail to understand why we have had such an attack on the traditional public schools of Florida from the very leaders elected to support public education. What is the infatuation with public charter schools that have been proven in many cases to be no more or even less effective than traditional schools? Why do so many of our leaders want private schools to have access to public dollars? Why does it seem that so many political leaders believe the only schools of quality are of some type other than traditional public schools? 

I often wonder if politicians truly understand the real impact of small and rural public schools on the lives of the students who attend them. Further, I am perplexed at why they attack schools and communities which they represent and live.

I believe strongly that small, rural schools and the districts in which they are located must be fully funded and supported by state leaders in order for students to have equal access and opportunity for high quality, rigorous educational programs in grades PreK – 12.