Radio Host Calls for Local Focus, Educational Freedom
EdNews Virginia | March 12, 2026
ARLINGTON, VA — WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor delivered a stirring defense of educational pluralism on Saturday, telling a crowd of more than 100 parents, educators and advocates the key to fixing Virginia’s schools isn’t found in Washington, but in the hands of local families and school boards.
Addressing EdReform Virginia’s fourth annual school choice event, O’Connor used his own family’s journey to illustrate why a “one-size-fits-all” approach to education is destined to fail.
Microcosm of School Choice
O’Connor shared that his own four kids followed vastly different K-12 paths — including government-run, charter, religious and home-based education.
“The reason I say that in terms of the microcosm of my family and my children is that, believe it or not, every child is different,” he said. “Every single child is created out of God’s eye to be their own individual person.”
O’Connor sharply criticized the educational status quo, noting how the system often ignores the unique needs of individual students.
“Right now, the people who are in charge of education in the Commonwealth of Virginia use a cookie-cutter approach for all of our children,” O’Connor said. “And that cookie doesn’t taste very good.”
Local vs. Federal
A major theme of O’Connor’s remarks was the “misplaced focus” of many parents who prioritize national politics over local issues.
“What happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House,” O’Connor told the crowd. “I think we saw during the COVID pandemic that your local school board member has more of an impact every single day on your life and on your children’s life than who sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.”
Healthy Competition
O’Connor concluded his remarks by framing the debate in the context of the free market, challenging the idea that government-run schools would be unduly “harmed” if they had to earn families’ trust and consequently their educational tax dollars.
“The only argument they’ve got back to you is, ‘Well, that’s going to make all of the public schools poor because you’ll pull all the money out of it,’ which is an admission of their own failure,” O’Connor said. “They know the second that there’s competition for those tax dollars, they will lose that competition. And you show me one product and one service in this country that has ever gotten better without competition.”
Watch Larry O’Connor’s Full Remarks
The full 14-minute speech, including O’Connor’s detailed breakdown of his own kids’ diverging educational journeys, can be viewed below.