Bob Schaffer: “What you see here in the United States now through the bureaucratic model is the schools that are the worst failures…”

“What you see here in the United States now through the bureaucratic model is the schools that are the worst failures, they get more cash. In fact the worse they do the more money they get, it seems like. This is a terrible model. The reinforcement ought to be just the opposite in my mind. We ought to be rewarding success. Because teachers and principals, administrators, even in the most challenged inner city schools, they can do a good job and they do from time to time. But what happens is when you find a collection of legitimate leaders in a community that are helping the most needy children, they are treated just as all of the others that are not doing a good job. This tax credit model really serves to reinforce those schools that are doing a good job. In fact, the way we have written it, it targets the children who need the help the most, the poorest in America.”