🩺The Time for Triage in Public Education

By Kristy Verdi, Ph.D.

“When public schools succeed, we all win. When they fail, we all lose.”

Across the country, educators are watching in alarm as efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education accelerate. The consequences for public education—and for the millions of students it serves—could be catastrophic.

National Education Association (NEA) President Becky Pringle recently described the movement plainly:

“They want to starve our public schools of the resources our students need and funnel these resources to discriminatory and unaccountable private schools or tax cuts for billionaires who funded his campaign.”— Becky Pringle, NEA (Walker, 2025)

Because the Constitution does not specifically name education as a federal power, the 10th Amendment reserves it to the states. That technicality is now being used as justification to dismantle federal oversight altogether.

But at the same time, the federal government is promoting privatization through massive tax incentives.

🎯 The Contradiction: Defund Public, Reward Private

In a contradictory move, the U.S. Senate passed the One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes a 100% federal tax credit for donors contributing to school choice scholarship funds.

“The bill sets eligibility at 300% of median income, meaning that in higher-income areas, families earning nearly half a million dollars could use the scholarships.”— Linda Jacobson, The 74

The bill also gives preference to previous recipients and their siblings (Jacobson, 2025). In other words, while claiming education is not a federal matter, Congress has actively incentivized private and religious education with federal tax breaks.

🏚️ Back at the Local Public School…

Meanwhile, local public schools are losing students—and with them, the FTE funding (Full-Time Equivalent) that determines staffing and resource allocations.👉 (To understand how FTE affects funding, see Fund Southern Schools.)

With declining enrollment, aging facilities, and fewer resources, many schools are being forced to prioritize survival over student success. A strong school with a supportive community might weather these changes, but what happens to schools already struggling? What about the students whose parents work multiple jobs, have no access to transportation, or aren’t able to navigate the “school choice” system? Some students will be turned away from charter and private schools due to academic records, behavioral issues, or other barriers. Without intervention, we risk creating a generation of youth with no school to attend—no guidance, no structure, and too much free time. A snapshot of the impact of prioritizing vouchers can be found in research by the Florida Policy Institute, which shows that Florida continues to divert substantial public funds to private and home-school programs, weakening the state's investment in its public schools.

🏫 Becoming the School of Choice

The only viable option is for public schools to become the schools of choice. But how?

It starts with understanding what Americans actually want from schools—not what policymakers or test publishers assume.

📊 What Americans Really Want from K–12 Education

A 2022 study by Populace, a nonpartisan think tank, found that Americans privately prioritize the following outcomes in education:

✅ Practical life skills (e.g., managing finances, preparing meals, making appointments)✅ Critical thinking and decision-making✅ Character development (honesty, integrity, ethics)(Populace, 2022, p. 9)

Yet, only about one-third of Americans believe their local schools are delivering on these values.

The mismatch between what families value and what schools provide is eroding public confidence in education.

Surprisingly, Americans don’t rank standardized testing, uniform curriculum, or traditional “American values” among their top priorities. They want education that is individualized, character-driven, practical, and intellectually engaging.

🔁 A Theory of Change for Public Schools

To meet this moment, public schools must rethink their model. That means:

• Reducing overreliance on testing and rigid course structures

• Expanding student-centered, experiential, and service-learning models

• Partnering with families, communities, and even students in planning and reform

• Building capacity for schools to adapt locally with less state-mandated uniformity

Community members, educators, elected officials, and students must come together to define success—not just compliance. Service-learning doesn’t just teach academics—it builds empathy, character, and real-world problem-solving. This is what families want. This is what students and communities need.

🚸 Why It Matters

As public schools become more responsive to these deeper priorities, families will return.

And as “school choice” expands, the cracks will begin to show:

• Private and charter schools will have waitlists.

• Tuition at private schools will increase.

• Transportation and volunteer demands will become burdensome for parents.

• Teachers—already in short supply, burned out, and underpaid—will leave education.

As charter schools close and private schools become more exclusive, public schools will remain the only place that guarantees a free, accessible education for all.

“For many students, public school is a source of hope, a sign of a better future, a place to feel loved and respected.”

We owe public schools more than survival. We owe them our best.

✊ A Call to Action

Every stakeholder—parents, students, teachers, neighbors, faith leaders, and lawmakers—must step up. Public schools need:

• Support

• Flexibility

• Innovation

• Trust

Because when public schools succeed, we all win. When they fail, we all lose.

About the Author:

Dr. Kristy Verdi is Executive Director of Learn and Serve Tampa Inc., a nonprofit that supports schools and educators in integrating service as a powerful tool for academic and personal growth.

Image created by AI Wix

During the preparation of this work, the author used ChatGPT to proofread the draft and suggest improvements for clarity. After using ChatGPT, the author reviewed and edited the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the content of the publication.

🔗 References

Florida Policy Institute. (2024, May 30). Florida continues to drain much-needed funds away from public schools to private and home-school students. https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-continues-to-drain-much-needed-funds-away-from-public-schools-to-private-and-home-school-students?mc_cid=c4be4c43b9&mc_eid=81b69123db

Fund Southern Schools. (2024, Feb 10). Full-time equivalent (FTE). https://fundsouthernschools.org/glossary-item/full-time-equivalent-fte/

Jacobson, L. (2025, February 27). Big tax bill passes Senate with less beautiful plan for national school choice. The 74. https://www.the74million.org/article/big-tax-bill-passes-senate-with-less-beautiful-plan-for-national-school-choice/

Populace. (2022, September 30). Purpose of Education Index. https://populace.org/research

Walker, T. (2025, February 4; updated March 20).

How dismantling the Department of Education would harm students. NEA Today. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/how-dismantling-department-education-would-harm-students