Parents should have the right to choose the best school for their child.
The current public education system is parasitic in nature.
Click to read article: http://thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/vvsd9911eductxcrdt.html
The floor is open. Please share your comments.
Here's an example of what can happen in the private school utopia. Accountability? Not to the community.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/a-rated-charter-by-day-adult-club-by-1812840.html
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
But I must inject some common sense into the debate (plus it's fun).
Look at VVSD for example, close to 70% of our property taxes are poured into the district.
With a budget of more than $200 million, the board continues to suffer from chronic budget deficits. Year after year.
The teachers' union donates more than $16k to board members, pushing for more multi-year, guaranteed raises.
The tons of administrators, all bumping into each other(with too little to do) are all paid well over $110k per year.
YET, the students are not learning much, and the taxpayers are being screwed.
One more point, Cedra Crenshaw's a bright and courageous advocate for quality education.
There's an election every other year. Voters should be given a variety of candidates, with competing views to choose from.
The "one-size fits all" type of government is not a democracy, it's a dictatorship.
Again, thanks for the comments.
The floor is open! Lets debate.
Parents currently have a choice on which school their child(ren) attend. If they don't like the school where they live, they can choose to send them to a private school or move to a property located in the area of the school that they want.
ReplyDeleteIt's really that simple.
It's not that simple, and you're making the point the article is addressing.
ReplyDeleteWhy should parents pay tens of thousands in federal and property taxes, then turn around and pay an additional tens of thousands to send their children to a private school?
Or, as you stated, move to a better community? Taxpayers are paying a substantial amount for public education. (federal tax + property tax + privates school tuition)
As Rhonda suggested in the article, why not open the market to competition, and give us a tax break to educate our kids the way we want.
This seems like a simpler and fair plan.
How can anyone be against tax credits? (LOL)
ReplyDeleteGood topic.
The cost that one pays in property taxes each year doesn't come close to what it costs to educate one child a year. So, the parents are not paying the total costs for their child's education. It's a group effort paid for by the rest of the taxpayers. Where's their say?
ReplyDeleteThe estimated cost of public education, per student is $11k. (not incl. transportation)
ReplyDeleteIn an open competitive market, the cost will drop because there's no bloated admin pay or premium salaries/benefits paid to teachers - draining the budget.
I am looking at my property tax bill. $4500 was paid to VVSD.
If the government offers a public school tax credit, I can use that $4500 towards the school of my choice.
Then add in the amount we pay in federal taxes. About 3% of federal dollars are used to fund public education.
Add it all together = a sweet deal for parents, students, educators and schools.
What choice should the people that don't have kids get when it comes to the money that they pay in property taxes to the school districts, state and Fed?
ReplyDeleteYou can donate it to a relative, a very bright poor child, or keep it where it's at.
ReplyDeleteThis subject has been debated for decades. Check out Ayn Rand's writings. [Rhonda, I'm sure you know exactly who she is.]
Be careful, the "entrenched pressure groups" (government & unions) have got a lot to lose. They are very powerful, and successful at convincing the public "all's fine, and there are no other options available, but status quo".
Ayn Rand wrote about this very idea in 1972.
Great article, Rhonda.
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteYou dodged the first point, dismissing it and adding your "common sense", which is only opinion and not necessarily number crunching. The point of the link is that the private charter was outside the control of the district and was free to turn the school into an adult club at night. And who said Cedra shouldn't have run? I didn't see anything about her in the first post.
My experience with the voucher debate goes back to when I was enrolled in a Catholic HS near Chicago during the 1980's. Parents had good intentions, but the bill didn't pass then and one will not pass today. Tuition in private schools has far outpaced inflation since 1983. There's no way one can pay $4400 in property taxes and expect $11000 back per kid to send Jonny and Jilly to private school. When poor and middle class kids are left out in the cold, then you'll see private schools popping up in garages and basements and then all kinds of craziness can be taught, which will not set our kids up to compete with the children of other nations in our future world.
You talk about all of the waste in VVSD, but your proposal of putting it out of business is both unrealistic and counter-productive. When you saw waste in Village government did you propose burning it down? No, you ran for office with the intention of cleaning it up. Same should be done here. Too many bloated salaries in Admin? Then present a case to the people, knock on doors and get a credible slate elected.
Anonymous, 5:17pm,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you joining the debate.
There are some great comments (including yours). Hopefully, the topic will encourage a passionate discussion about the state of our public education system. Including VVSD.
Although our opinions may differ, I strongly believe it's a conversation we need to have.
Thanks again for your contribution, and have a good weekend.
So according to Anonymous 5:17pm, we should scrap the whole idea of education reform because it's too expensive, and bogus private schools will pop up all around the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement Bill P,
"Be careful, the "entrenched pressure groups" (government & unions) have got a lot to lose. They are very powerful, and successful at convincing the public "all's fine, and there are no other options available, but status quo"."
I want more options!!!
It's all about ideology, and how one views life.
ReplyDeleteIf you believe "big government" is the answer. You are more willing to throw away tens of thousands in tax dollars to fund a bottomless pit.
Whereas, if you believe in a free society, and believe deeply that you can take care of yourself, you will resent government control, become angry each and everytime they tax us, and will fight against the tens of thousands being thrown into the bottomless pit called government.
Excellent comment, Bill P.
ReplyDeleteYour comment really hit home with me. At the end of the day, it's really about our fundamental beliefs about government.
I believe government is important, only in its very basic functions. But it's becoming way too big, and feels more like a parasite that sucks and sucks tax dollars, with little concern about whether it benefits the taxpayers.
It's a dysfunctional system that's feeding on itself.
Thanks, Bill.
Oh snap! Did Rhonda just blow off Anonymous, 5:17pm? Very smooth Rhonda Reed.
ReplyDeletecan't wait for you to drop that last name, baby.
Ralph, you can't reason with an angry person. The only response is no response. I cant stand the angry bickering and glad Rhonda handled it the way she did.
ReplyDeleteSenator Meeks had a great idea for giving parents of children in the 10 worst schools in Chicago a voucher to use to pay for private school. I believe it was for about $4,500. This bill would have been a great start and possibly been a test of private versus public education. Most importantly the parents would finally have a choice. Indiana is moving toward such a plan statewide. In Illinois the teachers' unions and their friends in the state legislature prevented passage of Meeks' bill.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers union won't even support a extra 90 minutes of classes for kids that now start at 8 a.m. and get out at 2 p.m. They say they are interested in the children...but they are only interested in the union.