Last time I talked a little bit about what school choice might look like. Today I wanted to mention another aspect of school choice, the fact that it already exists.
Look no further than real estate prices for evidence. Houses with good schools cost more because people are willing to pay more to get into those good schools. One local example here in Virginia is a development called Kiln Creek. It straddles two local government jurisdictions, York County and Newport News. I compared similar sized houses that I believe are no more than a half a mile apart in the same neighborhood. What do you think the price difference is between the one in the better school district versus the one in the not as good school district. It is a $100,000 difference. I recognize that other factors influence a consumers decision to purchase a house beyond just schools, but a quick glance at many real estate search websites will show that schools is an option that consumers can look at when reviewing houses.
The problem with this kind of school choice is that it favors the wealthy and affluent significantly more than the poor because it is far easier for them to move into areas with excellent school systems.
This begs the question, are good schools good on their own or are they good because they attract the best students?
What do you think? Is this a fair assessment of how things work today in our society? Thank you for reading.
I believe that this is a slippery slope. Good schools are good because they attract good students, but they attract good students because they are good. And the separation will continue to increase, good schools becoming better and bad schools becoming worse. Just my opinion based on little to no facts
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