The Democratic Party is floundering while the GOP is thriving.

0:00 Speaker 1 Sunday morning. Well with us today is Ed Cox. And Ed Cox has been especially in education in our cities, a state of country, and he is concerned and with our education of our children. And he is the New York State GOP chairman. Ed Cox tell us concerns about the educating our kids and our kids are.

0:27 Speaker 2 Forming behurrid Oh, yeah, John, I’ve been involved with education issue since nineteen eighty six and I was part of a private system of scholarships for alternative schools, and then i was the founding chairman of the State University’s Charter School Authorization Committee. So I’ve been involved in this for many, many years. Interesting things happening nationally. We’ve got a new

0:56 Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, who can be confirmed next week. And last week Trump, in a press conference in the Oval Office, ordered the incoming secretary. McMahon, who was in the first administration, was the chairman of the Small Business Association, so she knows washing bureaucracy and Trump’s or President Trump’s order tour was to put yourself out of a job,

1:25 close down the Department of Education. And he’s serious about it. The other Republican president said they’re going to close the Department of Education, but never really did anything about it. This president promises, made promises keep and he’s going to do it now. The other thing, of course that’s happening is a national school choice that has been an issue

1:54 that a group is in pushing in Congress. This is tax credit. It’s for organizations that give opportunities scholarships in essence that permits students throughout the country to go to schools of their choice rather than just the regular public schools.

2:15 A third development that’s going on is that there’s a case that is now before the Supreme Court which would permit religious charter schools Catholic charter schools, which would changed the equation with respect to again non public schools being able to take advantage people who want their kids to go to religious schools for charter schools. So lots of

2:43 developments happening nationally because the bottom line is that from the recent exam, students had been this is a national nate which scores which really is a national edge vocation scorecard for schools, and our schools are not just doing well, they really have not recovered from the closing of public schools during the during the COVID period, which was the

3:16 teachers Union pushed hard and they got public schools closed. The alternative schools, charter schools and Catholic schools and other religious schools stayed open and they actually had no intrat school transmission of COVID. So the charter schools and the religious schools had done very well with respect to the national scores, but the national public but the public schools

3:44 have not. So there’s a lot going on both nationally, and a lot of this started here in New York. Charter schools here in New York and school choice programs were pushed here, but the powers that they, particularly Governor Cuomo, killed the school choice program here and so it’s a lot of these issues are now going to be resolved

4:09 on the national level.

4:12 Speaker 1 And there was a lot of controversies. And I think you helped with the charter school program. Who else had helped the charter school program. And it’s done very very well in New York City.

4:25 Speaker 2 It’s done very well at a success academy that’s Moscow with his network, which is about fifty percent of the students now up in Harlem, they are among the best schools in the nation. The charter schools, New York charter schools, and I was the founding chairman of the State University of New York’s Charter School Authorization Committee and put together

4:58 the staff of that of the Charter School Institute that processes the authorization of charter schools. And New York really was in the league for a while on these things. And there was a school choice program that was being put through the legislature, and Cuomo initially supported it, but the teachers union turned them around on it, and he

5:27 rejected it, even though became a strong supporter of New York’s charter schools because the charter schools here in New York were succeeding as they’re succeeding around the country.

5:40 Speaker 1 Understood the other thing that I’ve noticed, you know, I ran from mayor in twenty thirteen, and I went over to the school’s numbers, and it was like the Catholic schools run the cost for student one thousand dollars per student.

6:01 The charter schools may be about the same ten thousand dollars of student, and the public schools it’s twenty seven thousand dollars of students, and the students are not getting the education. I mean, what is wroom would be with those numbers? You’re right, I mean we have in New York we have the most expensive public school system in

6:25 the United States, and yet here, for instance, in New York City, only one third of eighth graders score as proficient in math and in reading only one third. I mean, we are failing our students of public schools here in many instances, particularly in the inner city, schools are failing our students. And that’s why the students are parents are

6:57 wont to put their children into charter schools, and they’re long waiting lists for the charter schools, and the students are selected by lottery and really often at these when the lobbying when.

7:10 Speaker 2 When these uh, when these uh excuse me, it’s by it’s by uh. It is by random choice, if you will, that students are selected and the students who are disappointed that parents. It is really very sad to see. And the and the state has passed legislation that limits the amounts that charter schools can can get much less, as

7:39 you cited than the public schools and uh and also they are restricted in New York City. The number of charter schools that can be here even though the charter schools are much more successful than the public schools system, particularly in educating inner city school students.

8:03 Speaker 1 So where do we go from here? Are you going to work with President Trump on possibly getting your recommendations in there?

8:12 Speaker 2 Now, we’re going to work. I’m going to work here in New York in electing Republicans who are and we are very much for a school choice here in New York. The Republican Party is electing a Republican governor and to unleash our charter schools from the caps that have been put on them by the President, legislature and the President. Governor,

8:40 we should be the center, as we were with Governor Pataki’s charter school law that was passed in nineteen ninety eight, and by the way, it only got through the Democrat majority in the Assembly because members of the Assembly the legislat wanted to get a race and they and the only way then the governor PATTACKI said, you get your

9:07 raise if I get my charter school bill just the way I wanted, and he adopted a part of a charter school bill had already passed in Michigan that was really a very good one in administrating it, I really saw how well it was structured. He got the bill he wanted for charter schools, and the teacher and the

9:28 assembly members of the Assembly got their race, and the result was a huge plus for education here in New York with the success of our charter schools.

9:42 Speaker 1 Thank you so much, Ed Cox, and whatever I can do to help, a w ABC can do to help. But we’re here because we believe in our children, and we believe our children or the future of our country, and we have to move it on up from being number thirty eight in the world in education.

10:03 Speaker 2 You’re absolutely right, John, this is the future of the country that’s at stake. In nineteen eighty five, there’s a big report by a Country at Risk. America was at risk because of the problems with its public school education system.

10:21 There are lots of things happening in it now with alternative schools. As we have discussed here, we need to have more school choice, more charter schools, and it is vital for the future of America.

10:37 Speaker 1 Thank you so much. Thank you,