Parents, not bureaucrats, should have the right to choose where their children attend school. The only consideration should be if the gaining school district is willing to accept the child. There should be no way that a losing school district can stand in the way of a child’s better education just for selfish, ‘adult’ reasons.
Sadly – too often – this does not happen in Kentucky.
One on-going case in point is heating up again; a three-year long battle over parental school choice continues between the Knox County Public School District and the adjoining Corbin Independent School District.
Without question, the Corbin Independent Schools perform MUCH better than the Knox system, as this comparison of the latest ACT Composite Scores for the two high schools in Knox and the lone high school in Corbin shows.
Among the 230 high schools in Kentucky that reported 11th grade ACT scores in 2011, Corbin ranks way up there in 34th place. Knox County’s Lynn Camp ranked way down in a tie for 178th place, and Knox Central High approaches the bottom of the list in a tie for 206th place.
Thus, it is no surprise that some parents who actually live in Knox County want to send their children to Corbin. And it is obvious that Corbin is willing to accept kids from the Knox area so long as the state SEEK student support money goes to the independent district.
So, why is there a hang-up about allowing Knox kids to attend Corbin, instead?
Why are selfish ‘adult interests’ in Knox County allowed to trump the best interests of children?
