The public school system in America is under the microscope more than ever before, leading concerned parents and student advocates to speak out and run for their local school boards. This has created an abundance of passionate new, anti-progressive school board members across the nation, many of whom are the lone voice of reason on their boards, hoping for change, but lost on where to start.
This edition of Impact celebrates the success of PRI’s new School Board Member Training Program that hosted conferences for hundreds of school board members across four states in 2023. On pages 4-6, read about the success of our events in California, Texas, Washington, and Arizona, and learn how PRI has helped prepare board members to improve student achievement, expose and reject bad ideas being promoted by their local teacher unions, and balance school budgets.
Washington, D.C. continues to get it wrong on the health care debate and ignores market-oriented reforms that are good for patients including achieving better access to care and affordability that would bring down the cost of health care. On pages 8-9 read my 2024 health care reform agenda for achieving affordable, accessible, and high-quality healthcare. You will also find the results of PRI’s annual health care survey on page 7 which reveal that Americans are satisfied with their current health care plans and aren’t eager for a complete government takeover of our health care.
PRI’s Free Cities Center recently published a “Free Cities Index” exposing the nation’s top five and bottom five “pro-growth” cities. On pages 12-13, learn where the nation’s 50 most populous cities rank when it comes to tax burdens on businesses and individuals, how costly their regulatory environments are, and how efficiently they provide core public services.
Also in this issue:
- California public schools continue to perform poorly in core subjects like math and reading and are failing our students. Read Lance Izumi’s latest to learn why our test scores are nothing to celebrate (Pages 16-17).
- Discover the shocking crime data disparity and under reporting occurring that place potential victims in greater danger in Steve Smith’s article, “Murders are up – We’re just dying less” (Page 20).
- The concerns around California’s push for renewable energy are growing. Read Kerry Jackson’s latest on Governor Newsom’s green “idealism” and the state’s potential future for blackouts (Page 22).
Our work to promote free-market ideas would not be possible without your generous support. In 2024, let us continue to partner together to improve the quality of life of all Americans and advance freedom-based solutions to bring us greater prosperity and less government.
Sally C. Pipes
President, CEO, and
Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy
Pacific Research Institute
