[Vision2020] School Choice

[Tom Hansen]

Mr. Douglas -

The original argument was that those that do not participate in (or attend)
public schools feel that they should not have to subsidize public schools
(via property taxes).

Being a graduate of a public university, I was a recipient of a couple Pell
Grants (government funds provided to students for the purpose of aiding them
with their tuition, etc.).  These funds are ot given directly to the school,
but given to the student.

So, to "connect the dots" as you say, students (or parents of students),
identified in my first paragraph, feel that they shouldn't have to assist in
the payments for public education, but those students (or parents of
students) who attend public schools should assist in the payments for
private education.

You can't have it both ways, Mr. Douglas.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Douglas [mailto:ddarrel_douglas@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 11:38 PM
> To: thansen@moscow.com; vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: RE: [Vision2020] School Choice
>
>
> Tom Hanson states:
>
> "I assume (by your judgement) that those students that attend private
> schools should not be eligible for any type of government
> assistance (such
> as Pell Grants, previously listed during a similar debate)."
>
>
> I'm afraid I don't see the connection.  Maybe I'm missing
> something.  PELL
> grants to my knowledge are tax funded college tuition payments of
> some sort.
>   Could you help me connect the dots as to how that applies to
> the funding
> model of voluntary funding of public schools?  Or how making a
> distinction
> between tax supported (or voluntary public supported) educaction and the
> private/home school support should somehow make a difference in college
> funding elegibility?  I'm not saying there's no connection, Tom; I just
> don't see it and I haven't seen the other discussions.  If PELL
> grants fall
> into the same model then sure; if not then what's the relevance to this
> funding model?
>
> My take about PELL grants (with the dots I currently have
> connected) is that
> if something is funded by taxes, then, at first blush at least, there is
> nothing wrong with _considering_ accepting money for which you
> are eligible.
>
> Now whether I think it's good for the entire public to fund
> something things
> not strictly _necessary_ for government to fund (law-enforcement
> or defense
> are such necessities), as opposed to all those in favor of a benefit
> _voluntarily_ undertaking to fund it themselves...well that's a different
> matter.  The government funds lots of things I derive some
> benefit from that
> I would rather it didn't. The whole social security fraud
> complete, with its
> two sets of ledgers, comes to mind.  I don't consider someone
> opposed to SS
> as being wrong or inconsistent if they start cashing their
> monthly checks at
> the end of the month when they turn 62.
>
> There may be other reasons (strings attached, some schools excluded, etc)
> not to accept Federal help for college.  And perhaps it is a sufficiently
> eggregious funding model (like corporate welfare, mohair subsidies, and
> unconsiounably selective farm subsidies) that beg for people with
> spines to
> refuse.  But whether PELL grants fall in either catagory, I can't
> say at the
> moment.  Maybe you can help me see from what I've written, why I
> would think
> that home/private school kids should act differently than their
> counterparts
> on this issue--based on the proposed funding model, or being in
> favor of the
> proposed funding model.
>
> Cheers,
> David
>
> >From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen@moscow.com>
> >Reply-To: <thansen@moscow.com>
> >To: "David Douglas" <ddarrel_douglas@hotmail.com>,
> <sdredge@yahoo.com>,
> ><vision2020@moscow.com>
> >Subject: RE: [Vision2020] School Choice
> >Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003 20:14:45 -0800
> >
> >David Douglas states:
> >
> >"Would you find (or fund) this model acceptable if it were changed to a
> >strictly voluntary system of contributions?  That way the folks who send
> >their kids to private school or home school wouldn't merely have
> the choice
> >of what to do, they'd have a funding model they found acceptable
> as well."
> >
> >
> >I assume (by your judgement) that those students that attend private
> >schools
> >should not be eligible for any type of government assistance
> (such as Pell
> >Grants, previously listed during a similar debate).
> >
> >Tom Hansen
> >Moscow
> >
> >_____________________________________________________
> >  List services made available by First Step Internet,
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> >           mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
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