Heartland Institute Comments on This Weekend’s Education March, Rallies

Published July 30, 2011

Heartland Institute Comments on
This Weekend’s Education March, Rallies

The four-day-long ‘Save Our Schools’ rally began Thursday in Washington, D.C. and runs throughout the weekend. The purpose of the rally and marches – attended by parents, teacher unions, and community organizers – is to “end controversial education reforms.”

The following statement by Bruno Behrend, director of The Heartland Institute‘s Center for School Transformation, may be used for attribution. For additional comments or to book Bruno on your program, refer to the contact information below.


“This weekend, union leaders and liberal advocacy groups representing an overpriced and under-performing education monopoly will march in Washington, D.C. The event is billed as the ‘Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action.’

“American citizens don’t need another march put on by powerful interest groups representing an oversized ‘government-education complex.’ It would be much more fitting that the millions of children trapped inside the nation’s failing schools march on the capitol to demand access to a much wider array of independent schools and education services.

“After decades of failed attempts to reform an un-reformable system, it is time to skip reform and move right to transforming America’s education system. The nation needs to stop funding districts, bureaucracies, and the army of powerful public employee interests. It needs to start funding children directly, so parents and children can find the best educational option to fit their unique needs.

“The Heartland Institute’s Center for School Transformation works with groups of activists in nearly every state to increase parental empowerment in education decisions. This is done by expanding access to a greater number of education options, including private schools, charter schools, and online education providers.

“‘Fund children, not systems’ needs to be the rallying cry for a new generation of education activists. We don’t need to ‘save schools or bureaucracies.’ We need to save the children trapped in an unworkable education bureaucracy.”

Bruno Behrend
Director, Center for School Transformation
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


The Heartland Institute is a 27-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus, Ohio. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.