You Should Have the Choice…
At this point people will start howling about public funds going to religious institutions. Here’s how I justify that; public funds are being applied to parents and student for their application to an accredited education. If that accredited education is supplemented with additional religious content, that’s the parent’s prerogative. So some will still be hung up on education funds going to church schools, accredited curriculum or not. Well, we don’t mandate how people spend their social security checks – people are free to throw it in the church plate if they like. We don’t regulate where people spend their food stamps, disability money, or tax refunds. People frequently receive government funds for life’s necessities. If they spend those funds at a Hindu grocery, a Christian pharmacy, or a Satanist fruit stand we leave it to their judgment. If government gives vouchers for application to education, the only stipulation should be that they apply it toward an accredited institution. The bigger objection in my mind is that this really isn’t a federal issue. The constitution says nothing on the subject of educating the nation’s youth, so according to the 10th amendment this should be a matter left to the states. I’d like to see the federal Department of Education abolished, or at least dialed back to simply a national accreditation function. Surely one of our creative state legislatures can fashion an answer that parents will embrace and other states can emulate. Michael Previous: They Doth Protest Too Much. -- Next: Life, Faith, the Whole Enchilada… Comment from Weird: Michael, Visiting your site is like walking into into an ice cream parlor for me; it’s nearly impossible to find something I don’t like! I really hope you achieve your goals in this election. You are doing a good thing here. Weird Posted by Weird May 26, 01:06 AM # Comment from Vita: Yes. Hung up on public funds being taken away from public schools to go to private schools risking underfunding of public schools…..it is already rather more than a risk. Bad idea. Usually your ideas are great, so I still think you’re a great guy…who plays the tuba! Posted by Vita May 26, 07:52 AM # Comment from Michael Smith: Vita, I’d agree that school funding here in Oregon is messed up, but I’m not sure that’s an issue of inadequate spending, or of inappropriate spending. Regardless, it’s a state issue and not a federal constitutional responsibility. And if you had a voucher and could choose which school to send your euphonium-playing child to, would you care if it was the public school or private? Wouldn’t you select the one with the best test scores, or best faculty, or best marching band? The end result would be that you and your child would have options and hopefully a better education. If the public school was underperforming, it definitely would (and should) be unfunded as parents vote with their feet. The education system needs to be held accountable for results like any other institution and should not have a protected monopoly. Dang, there goes my endorsement from the teachers’ union. Michael Posted by Michael Smith May 26, 10:02 AM # Comment from Vita: If you were supperintendent of public schools, what would you change about funding allocations? Posted by Vita May 26, 03:05 PM # Comment from Michael Smith: Vita, I wouldn’t claim to know enough about the details of our local budgets to give a detailed answer, but a few issues come to mind. We seem to have plenty of administration – assistant principles everywhere you look. The lame XLT hour wasted at the middle school. I’d want to examine how many faculty/staff hours are non student hours – and compare that to some benchmarks. I think the local schools are making some good choices in considering consolidation. At a state level, the notion that each district should be equal is lame. One of the things that makes one community “better” than another, and home values higher, is the quality of the school system. When the state redistributes money from one community to another they adopt the modus operandi of the communists. I moved to this community, and paid more for housing, because of the good schools. If I wanted cheap housing, and lousy schools, I could have lived 10 miles up the road. How about we discuss this more when I’m running for Governor? It’s just not a federal issue. Michael Posted by Michael Smith May 26, 03:55 PM # |
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