The Education Monopoly Problem Everyone Ignores

05Feb
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

There’s always that one person that buys up all of the railroads when playing the game “Monopoly,” right? Or the person that buys and owns all of the utilities, or the whole block of expensive streets like Park Place and Boardwalk. I think we can all agree how annoying it is to play with those people. For a moment, let’s replace all the railroad spots on the board with “public school,” and they are owned by the same annoying person…this is a MONOPOLY.

The owner of the public schools gets complete control of his public schools and can charge the person who lands on the property premium amount of rent because they own all four “public schools” available.

So, theoretically, public schools are a government owned monopoly. That monopoly is always threatened by would be competitors. It is especially true when a possible competitor comes in with a more effective and efficient model. That is what we are seeing today with public education. The idea that only the government should run schools is an outdated and ineffective model. That’s why we, as parents (consumers), should have choices!

How many times have you complained to others or to yourself about the inability to change a certain utility company because as a monopoly, you are stuck with the provider? I know that I have been frustrated about not having choices for my gas or electric company.  My one water company option is the worst in every sense, but I have NO choice but to deal with it and let this utility gouge me and deal with the poor customer service. Again, I have no choice.

We have an amazing opportunity to increase our choices when it comes to the public education monopoly. It does not even have to be adversarial. Traditional public schools will never go away.  We are too heavily invested in their existence, and the reality is that most parents will always want the most convenient option regardless. The idea that we should not have options is an outdated and ineffective idea.  

It’s time to address the monopoly and work together to provide options for parents and kids.

What do you think?

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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