How did it ever come to this – our tax dollars funding private schools? Thomas Jefferson would be turning in his grave!

I cannot even begin to fathom how anyone supports this idea – other than out of personal greed. Sure, if I wanted to send my child to a private school, and the government offered to pay, I’d accept the money. I’d also accept the money if the government offered to pay my mortgage payments, or buy my food, or subsidize half the cost of my gasoline. But none of that makes any sense as public policy.

Our tax dollars are supposed to pay for public schools, public roads – to pay for the public good – not to pay for elitist education for the privileged.

Private schools can sometimes be very good schools. But public funding of private schools – whether religious of secular – is not an appropriate use of taxpayers dollars.

In addition to stealing money from public schools, public funding of private schools also weakens public schools by decreasing the number of concerned and active parents dedicated to maintaining the quality of our public schools. The more concerned parents run away from public schools, the fewer are left to restore the American tradition of truly high quality public schooling.

Moreover, diverting public money to private schools is often a cover for running away from racial or cultural issues in our public schools.

Let those who wish to spend their own money pay to send their children to private schools, and let the rest of us – and all our tax dollars – work to restore our public schools to their glory.