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Public education was the target of several attacks last week – overt and covert.
Covertly, our public education systems were labeled “government schools.” One can argue the semantics, but the purpose is clear: use a term that could evoke negative connotations to instill distrust and apprehension. Language matters. Words matter. Public education is fundamental to our democracy and it means exactly what it says: public funds used to educate the public. That’s us and our children and our grandchildren and our neighbor’s children.
The covert attack is in our current president’s budget which abolishes dozens and dozens of programs aimed at helping specific populations, including the disadvantaged and disabled, and lumps them all together for states to decide how to spend these vital dollars. It is being spun as “local control.” It is instead an easy way for a powerful minority, or a private-charter-school-friendly superintendent, to siphon money away from our public schools and funnel it into private, for-profit institutions.
I urge you to make your voice heard!
Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen has said she supports these cuts. So, please call her office first at 406-444-5643
Then call Senator Steve Daines and Representative Greg Gianforte. |
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President Donald Trump’s proposed budget seeks to spend billions in federal money — roughly equivalent to the totality of proposed cuts under the block grant — to help subsidize private school tuition. During his State of the Union address last week, he touted school choice as a pathway for students stuck in “failing government schools,” and promoted a plan to create “Education Freedom Scholarships.” The proposal, a key legislative goal for DeVos, would offer federal tax credit incentives to individuals and organizations that donate to state tax credit scholarship programs for a host of educational offerings, including private school. Under the budget, the scholarship program would receive $1 billion in 2021 and $5 billion in subsequent years. |
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And, in case you missed it, this is an excellent recap of how this budget would impact Montana from The Montana Post |
