Taxpayers deserve the most for their money. But wasteful and unfair mandates often mean we only get four schools for the price of five. That’s bad for our communities, our kids and our coffers.

These mandates, called project labor agreements (PLAs), are also the wrong lesson for our kids.

While we teach students about fair play and hard work, PLA mandates deprive the 86 percent of America’s construction workforce that chooses not to join a labor organization of the opportunity to work and advance.