I just watched Arizona "governor" Katie Hobbs explain her position on school choice in the context of her parents choosing to send her to a Catholic school.  She basically said that it was her parents' decision, but she kept begging them to put her in public schools.  Yes, we have to keep those teachers' unions happy, don't we?

Up in Seattle, it is the public schools that are begging the parents to return their kids to school.  This is the story:

Washington state's biggest school district is considering shuttering some schools and laying off staff in the near future as enrollment rates continue to drop following the pandemic.

Seattle Public Schools officials floated the idea of "consolidating" schools during a workshop reported on by The Seattle Times. Funding for most school districts is tied to the number of students, so declines in enrollment will likely contribute to budget shortfalls.

The city's school system has lost more than 3,500 students since the pandemic and expects to lose another 3,000 by the 2025-2026 school year, according to data from the district. If that happens, it will mark a 12.5% decrease in enrollment over six years.

So what's going on?  My guess is that a lot of parents are saying "no more."  The school district is looking for answers.  In this case, many of the kids are homeschooling, or going to private schools, or just getting the heck out of Seattle.

Over in Portland, the northwest's other "woke" city, they are having their own exodus, losing about 8% of their students since 2019.

You can vote with your feet by leaving the state, or you can vote with your kids and pull them out of public schools.  They both add up to an exodus of tax revenues and schoolteachers getting pink slips.

Who is that fellow with a big megaphone driving through your neighborhood?  It's the school superintendent calling on the parents to send their kids back to his school.  He needs you!

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Image: Brian J. Matis.