Public school enrollment is plummeting

 (My new American Thinker post)

According to a New York Times article, parents are not sending their kids to public schools the way they used to.  This is a sample of the school districts feeling the pinch:

In New York City, the nation’s largest school district has lost some 50,000 students over the past two years. In Michigan, enrollment remains more than 50,000 below prepandemic levels from big cities to the rural Upper Peninsula.

In the suburbs of Orange County, Calif., where families have moved for generations to be part of the public school system, enrollment slid for the second consecutive year; statewide, more than a quarter-million public school students have dropped from California’s rolls since 2019.

And since school funding is tied to enrollment, cities that have lost many students — including Denver, Albuquerque and Oakland — are now considering combining classrooms, laying off teachers or shutting down entire schools.

All together, America’s public schools have lost at least 1.2 million students since 2020, according to a recently published national survey. State enrollment figures show no sign of a rebound to the previous national levels any time soon.

Wow.  I knew that it was a big number but had no idea that it exceeded 1 million.

Why is this happening?

First, let’s start with the pandemic and the way that kids were kept at home.  I recall that our area Catholic schools, and other private schools, were operating, whereas the public schools were not.  How did these schools do it?  They were careful and kept parents in the loop.

Second, let’s look at what these kids were taught about the country’s history.

Last, but not least, the big overriding reason is that the public school system acted like the monopoly that it is.  It put its interests first and did not listen to the parents or customers.  Who pays the taxes?  The parents!

So Mom and Dad started looking for alternatives and taking control of their kids’ education.

What happens now?  There is some big downsizing coming up.  Many school districts will have to lay off teachers and close facilities.  The collapse is starting, and the teachers’ union has only itself to blame.

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