We’re thick in the season of school open houses and such. Parents are out there going from town to town, checking out charter schools, looking at schools the next town over, doing their comparison education shopping for the 2026-2027 school season.

Is this a good thing? Will each precious flower bloom differently in its own special soil? Is School A a better choice for Kid X, while School B is a better choice for Kid Y?

Or are we just giving parents yet more opportunity to exercise their neuroses, when the best thing would have been just to do it like it was still 1970 — your kid goes to the school nearest your house?

We don’t know, so we’re asking. Let’s stipulate that we’re talking about the Humboldt County of today, or maybe an ideal Humboldt County of today, where racial segregation isn’t really much of an issue.

Given that: Is school choice a good thing, or was it better when kids just went to the nearest school?