Roy Terwilliger Response 1
Question 1: Many alternatives to the existing education
system have been proposed; including charter schools, vouchers and private
sector involvement. Do you favor any of these approaches, or do you
have specific proposals to strengthen the current system?
There is strong evidence that when done correctly charter schools can
work and work well, providing parents, students and teachers a unique
opportunity work collaboratively and creatively to develop an
interesting and useful curriculum. I question the effectiveness and
appropriateness of a voucher system. Quite frankly, I believe that
vouchers send the wrong message about public education. The Governor is
right when he says that forcing schools to be more competitive and
responsive is one way to improve public education; but I think he is
tragically wrong when he propose to do that by taking any aspect of the
already limited dollars away from public schools.
One way to continue Minnesota's strong tradition of offering the best
public education in the nation is to augment tax dollars and public
resources with input and participation of the private sector. Minnesota
is blessed with some of the world's finest companies. Most of these
companies rank in the Fortune 100 or 500 and are generally noted for
their creativity, innovation and superior work forces. The State of
Minnesota must leverage the time, talents and knowledge of these
companies by involving them in the development and execution of public
education. If the State can serve as the conduit to bring business and
educators together, we can ensure that our children are learning and
acquiring the knowledge and skills they will need to compete in the
global economy of the next Century.
