Corruption in the public schools

"One of the most frequently voiced objections to school choice is that the free market lacks the"accountability" that governs public education. Public schools are constantly monitored by district administrators, state officials, federal officials, school board members, and throngs of other people tasked with making sure that the schools follow all the rules and regulations governing them. That level of bureaucratic oversight does not exist in the free market, and critics fear choice-based education will be plagued by corruption, poor-quality schools, and failure. Recently, news surfaced that appeared to justify critics' fears. Between the beginning of 2003 and the middle of 2004, Florida's Palm Beach Post broke a slew of stories identifying corruption in the state's three school choice programs. The number of stories alone seemed to confirm that a choice-based system of education is hopelessly prone to corruption. But when Florida's choice problems are compared with cases of fraud, waste, and abuse in public schools--schools supposedly inoculated against corruption by "public accountability"--choice problems suddenly don't seem too bad. So which system is more likely to produce sch