According to a recent article, Port Washington School Board member Dave Kerpen is encouraging the board to consider corporate sponsorship as a potential source of revenue.
While innovative thinking is welcome from our public officials, Port’s parents should hope this idea, which raises numerous questions, never gets past the consideration stage.
Kerpen stated that the board would not consider sponsorship from “junk food, soda, or alcohol” and provided the “positive” examples of banks, automotive sales, finance or television.
And yet, recent history shows that what the board would consider is no better than what it would not.
Would parents want sponsorship from a bank involved in a mortgage lending scandal?
Or an automobile dealership whose cars were subject to a safety recall?
Do parents want television sponsorship for our schools in the age of our “Reality TV” President?
Port Washington’s parents have been a leading voice resisting the corporatization of public education.
If the board accepts some corporate donations, would it be able to resist further temptation?
The true danger comes from companies increasingly involved in public education. Would Port’s board further sacrifice student privacy for sponsorship from Google or Facebook?
Would it yield to the Common Core testing regimen and standards to accept sponsorship from Pearson or other test-writing companies?
Would it allow a charter school in Port in exchange for private funding?
America’s support of public education can be traced to our founders.
John Adams advocated for the expense of education to be paid by the whole people and not just one charitable individual or organization.
Adams reasoned that public financing of widely available education was essential for ensuring citizens know that they are the fountain of power in a democracy. Inviting corporate sponsorship of public schools can only threaten these Founding ideals and this fundamental pillar of our society.
Bill Bodkin
Port Washington
