With Premier Ed Stelmach spending the week in Switzerland, it appears that Education Minister Dave Hancock and Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett have been left in charge of defending the controversial recent amendments to Bill 44: Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Amendment Act, 2009.
Someone much smarter than I recent suggested a scenario that could end the current controversy over Bill 44. This scenario would see the PC caucus pull the evolution clause from the Bill and implement either education tax opt-outs for parents sending their kids to Charter Private Schools or provide government funding for Charter Private Schools as a 'compromise.'
Thoughts?
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
bill 44 to end with charter private schools?
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14 comments:
It sounds plausible to me; the idea that all of this is a way to fuss with tax options or Charter school funding.
I would like to suggest that we already have a solution: if a parent wishes to exert parental rights and insulate their child from instruction in sexuality, sexual orientation, evolution, or the fact that pi = 3.1415926, they can home school.
Everyone here wins; except the child, of course, but the PCs are not really interested in that.
Would I be right in thinking the "compromise in funding charter schools" was the same thing that blew up in the faces of the Ontario PC's last election.
I, like the Ontario tax payer, have no interest in the state subsidization of the religious indoctrination of children. If parents don't like the public system, they have the 'god' given right to pay the whole shot at a private school. They can't have it both ways!
The scenario you presented makes sense politically. The PC caucus is remaining silent to appease the agenda of a small number of social conservative MLA's. Stelmach is conveniently out of the country to avoid any more misspeaks about the scandal (EVOLUTION) and they are letting their two most moderate Cabinet ministers take the blunt of criticism for this scandal. Hancock and Blackett are smarter than this. They should not be afraid to stand up to the socons.
Charter schools are already 100% taxpayer funded. I think what you are looking for are 'private schools'.
If the schools only got the same amount as any other school per student, and were not allowed to seek top up funding any more than the public schools do with 'fees' and such I think that is ok.
Right now private schools I believe get a per student grant of about 60% compared to the public grants, and can ask for unlimited tuitionfrom parents.
Parents can insulated their kids as much as they want, but they still need to pass their diploma exams, which I am pretty sure include evolution, the Copernican universe, and the geology time scale.
Ideas for charter schools:
-The Jedi Academy: What's your child's midichlorian count? Count on us to teach them the ways of the force!
-The Hitchhiker's Academy: Douglas Adams IS the new world prophet. His answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything, 44, is remarkably close to Hubble's constant. Need we say more?
-The Gozerian Academy: Get down HOMEies with Gozer the Gozerian. You'll have a slapstick time learning about our pre-Jehovan gods and goblins. Marshmallows not included.
-The Heaven's Gate Academy: Costs only quarters!
Okay....the last one might have been in bad taste.
Kyle is right about school funding. You're not the first person to confuse charter schools and private schools, but the differences are large.
Anonymous 12:20 is terribly mistaken about the Answer. It's 42.
The diploma exams to expect students to be able to answer questions about all parts of the curriculum, but they only count for half the final mark. If you get 100% in Biology 30 because you know that the Earth was created in 4004 BC, you can make up for not knowing anything about that "evolution" stuff.
They definitely are providing funding to private schools of 60 or 70% (I think it went up last year). These include schools where the Flinstones is more fact than fiction.
I can't wait until Danielle Smith finally takes over the Wildrose leaders chair. Then the PC's will finally face some open opposition.
100% support for private christian schools? Who is our Premier, Ted Morton?
"private schools" education funding opt out clause! -- Wow perhaps Alberta should create a permanent India style caste system while they are at it.
If I remember correctly education funding opt out clause in the US is what destroyed education there.
If you want to risk gutting public education in Alberta, sure, go for the tax opt-out. I'm surprised you don't know better already, Dave.
What the last poster misses is that the money belongs to the TAXPAYERS. We should give them the choice!
Private schools are already funded at the rate of 70% of public school students and as a taxpayer I didn't get a say if I want my money to support a school put in place for a parent's own needs/belief system and not for the "greater " good. The money collected through property tax is a pittance of the general revenue needed to support the education system. Wait!! maybe that is the solution, let private school supporters mark for their taxes to go to private institutions and ONLY direct those funds to the private system and leave my tax dollars alone.
Thank you! it's great post, Depths Of Death
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