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Leave educational choice out of outdoor facility discussion [UPDATED]
Published 9:19am Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Updated 11:30am Wednesday, February 27, 2013While it’s good to see The Daily Journal’s publisher take a stand on the outdoor facility referendum, we believe Joel Myhre’s remarks about parents who choose open enrollment, private school or home school are off base (“Commentary,” Feb. 24, 2013).
It’s presumptuous to say, “Every child who attends a neighboring school, a private school, gets home schooled … costs the district about $5,000 a year in state revenue” when — in fact — you can’t lose what you don’t own.
A school district that considers itself entitled to state funds for every child living within its boundaries is a school district that will repel education-savvy parents.
As Minnesotans, we have the right to choose from a wide range of school options. In our case, we moved to Fergus Falls in 1998 so our children could attend Morning Son Christian School.
After completing their elementary grades, they moved into Fergus Falls Middle School and then — through the PSEO program — completed their A.A. degrees at M-State before graduating from Fergus Falls High School.
As parents of seven, we feel deeply blessed by the richness of public and private education in this community.
However, School District 544 would have gained no revenue from our children if we hadn’t first moved here to be closer to Morning Son.
We agree that District 544 voters should consider what improved outdoor facilities could do for the school, community and land values before voting in the upcoming referendum.
But, please don’t confuse the issue by lobbing biased claims against those parents — and property owners — who are exercising educational choice.
Wayne and Gerri Stowman
Fergus Falls
To the Stowmans; He can’t help it when he insists that a governmental agency, in this case the school ditrict, have absolute say who will be educated and where and how that education will be administered. Most of Joel Myhre’s editorials, when he isn’t whining or boasting about his golf game or running, or moaning about the Timberwolves or Wild, have the purpose of extorting more taxes and taking away more rights (such as choice of where your children may be educated) and building a stronger and more dominant government controlling all of us.
I can’t remember when Myhre took a position against increasing taxes or spending or giving government more control over the lives of the people.