[Vision2020] School Choice

[Bruce and Jean Livingston]

In response to arguments about the means of funding private and public
SCHOOLS, and ignoring the difference between Pell Grant funding of students
who choose to ATTEND a particular public OR private school -- in his
instance a public one -- Tom Hansen wrote the following illogical rebuttal:

     "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 (sic) 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"

Selectively connecting a few dots among many, while skipping the lines
between omitted dots, results in a very different picture.  Mr. Hansen's
looks like an orange, rather than Mr. Douglas' original apple.  If anything,
Pell grants are closer to the model of  "competition for student dollars
among schools" that the private school proponents advocate, though Pell
grants are limited greatly by financial need, unlike some of the proposed
"voucher" systems.

Bruce Livingston