The Intel co-founder has donated $250,000 towards setting up a charter school in Los Altos Hills here in the Valley. Quote: "Betty and I feel very strongly that competition in educational opportunities results in innovation and significant improvements for all participants."
Good for him. The primary and secondary education systems are real travesties of the Valley. The high real estate costs that jack up the costs of living and doing business are made all the worse by the insult of an educational system that caters more to teacher's unions, administrators and politician's careers than to students, parents, and taxpayers. Many feel they have to buy over their financial weight and real needs to get their children into a decent district, or budget for private schools on top of their tax burdens. Meanwhile, districts like Los Altos and Sequoia (where I have the misfortune to live) do everything they can to footdrag and obfuscate even the nominal level of competition represented by legally mandated charter school startups. If you thought the creative, intellectual haven of the Valley must be immune to feather bedding and log rolling, think again. And don't even consider discussing vouchers.
In competition is accountability, and that's what the fight's really about - an ongoing effort to evade accountability, all the while whining about budgets and salaries. The tune has gotten very old. Cheers to Mr. Moore for calling it like it is, and putting his money there as well.
