Over the years, with the push for school privatization, Americans have increasingly given up ownership of their public schools. Likewise, we’re in jeopardy of losing access to national parks and land that should belong to us. These are two very public establishments for the benefit of Americans, and they have a lot in common.
For years, CEOs, foundations, nonprofits, and politicians have driven school reform, privatizing what they could to make public education more business-run. For years, national parks have outsourced their services and have let parks slide.
In both cases, when services fail, the public is more willing to hand over what’s public to private enterprise. Parents may accept school vouchers, believing private schools are better. They might also think privatizing national parks will improve them.
Congress has protected national parks, but recently, that’s been questioned. The Wilderness Society reports that more than 250 million acres of Bureau of Public Land and United States Forest Service lands will be available for sale. Much of this land is environmentally sensitive. They say:
This effort is in and of itself entirely destructive—especially when considered with other provisions in the bill that will mandate oil lease sales in the Arctic Refuge, force construction of a mining road through a national park and more than double the amount of logging in western national forests—but it also sets a dangerous precedent that members of Congress can simply liquidate our public lands to fund their pet projects.
The Trump administration also focuses on school vouchers, many of which are already going to parents who send their children to private schools. The money can also go for non-essential treats like theme parks or items having little to do with instruction.
When these establishments aren’t protected, they will change dramatically.
Poor Leadership
School privatization started with leadership and hiring individuals with little experience or qualifications, working without understanding how children learn. This is similar for national parks. When those who become top managers have little training or lack belief in the systems they run, expect grave changes.
On May 27, Martha Bellisle reported for the AP:
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently directed Tyler Hassen, who lacks Senate confirmation and has no public administration experience, to reorganize the Interior Department, which oversees some 70,000 employees in 11 agencies including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also has connections to the gas and oil industry.
Likewise, Education Secretary Linda McMahon recently demonstrated her lack of understanding of public education and the history of the Tulsa race riots and Ruby Bridges. She confused A1, the steak sauce, with AI, which is a serious issue facing public education. Education secretaries without classroom experience have increasingly worked to privatize public schools. They’re uninvested in public schools.
Poor leadership in schools and parks works to end, not improve, them. They create changes within the system.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding has been problematic for years in most national parks, just like in public schools. Unlike public schools, overcrowding in national parks must be managed because so many people want to see the park’s beauty. It’s understandable why many parks now control admissions. So far, most park entrance plans seem fair, but check each park before you visit to see how its entrance plan works, or if one exists.
School overcrowding could be better managed by investing in public education and creating more and better school facilities.
Creating better systems of managing national park crowds is doable. But the fear is that many of these parks will lose their protections and become parks for the wealthy to own and do with as they please.
When parents get a so-called choice in schools, they must vie with other parents to get their children into the school they want. This creates competition, but not in a good way. There will be winners and losers, and it’s not a real choice.
These concerns increase when national parks and public schools lack efficient staffing.
Staffing
Staffing is everything in national parks and public schools. It improves the quality and management of parks and schools. When that infrastructure is broken, both become endangered.
Here, Forbes reports on Oregon’s Rep. Maxine Dexter, M.D., as she grills Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about staffing shortages at Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park.
Park rangers manage crowds and teach visitors about the fragile ecosystems specific to each park location. These lessons are priceless for children who learn about the environment and see beautiful sights. What child doesn’t get excited about the Junior Ranger Rick programs? Without well-prepared staff, national parks will be a shell of what they once were.
Under DOGE’s direction, the Trump administration initially fired new park rangers who were getting a start in their careers. Because of public outcry, they hired some back again with the promise of seasonal workers, but many parks are still short of critical workers. They’ve politicized both national parks and public schools.
Americans shouldn’t have to struggle to save what’s critical for America’s survival, face questionable hiring practices that may or may not make park attendance pleasant, or protect the parks.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Education has not rehired staff in education, and sending funding to states without abiding by the laws that the USDOE needs to enforce means the end of many programs for children, especially for children with disabilities and the poor.
Similarly, Americans may become frustrated with public education because of staffing shortages. With the intentional defunding of schools, resulting in oversized classes, parents will find it harder to get the assistance they need for their children.
Cost
Accommodations in national parks can be expensive and rundown, and many people can’t afford to stay there.
Keeping national parks clean requires well-trained custodians who are paid fairly and given a vested interest and pride in maintaining parks for all to enjoy.
Ours
The American people own national parks and public schools, and no one should have the right to steal them. They should be handed down to the next generation, better managed and maintained, with a promise that we will treasure the environment and our free public education system.
This country should be about protecting national parks forever, and instructing America’s students so they will lead us into the future with great hope and understanding.
At Mesa Verde National Park (2022)
I refuse to believe former Sec. of the Interior Deb Haaland left our national parks in disarray. Burgham is so eager to privatize that he wants to outsource maintenance to private parties in the surrounding towns. We know that privatization results in lower pay and more instability for employees, in order that profits can be taken where they were previously unavailable.
Let’s remember that under Ryan Zinke, secretary during Trump’s first term, rules were changed to make it more difficult for Park Rangers to obtain year-round work schedules. Many people with institutional knowledge left the Park Service then, just as many teachers have left teaching because the pay is poor and working conditions are unsustainable and precarious.
Great point! I think Sec. Of the Interior Deb Haaland was left to pick up the pieces of the first Trump term. Parks have been outsourcing services for years, but I think, and I say this as a frequent national park visitor, that services are on the decline in many of the parks. We recently cancelled a trip to the Grand Canyon North Rim due to a rodent problem and other bad reviews. But they’re increasingly threatened with the Trump administration. DOGE showed us that. And they’re gobbling up land. Very concerning.
Oh, yes, I’d agree that services are declining. We’ve seen this in the public schools, too. Underfunded school buildings are not updated or maintained while charters have wealthy patrons to finance new construction.
Gobbling up land has another outcome, too besides drilling and mining: the techbros want land to build out their Network States, free of government oversight.
Had not thought of that, Christine, but what a concern that is. It never seems to end. Thank you for your insight.