No public money for private schools

Thank you to Kay Bertken for her brilliant, well-written commentary on public funding for private schools (June 16). I appreciate the emphasis on the function of public education, to expose students to a common body of knowledge and the principles of freedom our country was founded on, and to enable students to experience the diversity that is the United States.

Opting out of public education in favor of a parochial education is a privilege for all who can afford it. Asking that taxes levied for the common good be diverted to support religious views sets a precedent that is a two-edged sword. What is good for the goose (Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran schools) is good for the gander (Moslem, Buddhist, etc.).

The camel’s nose is the old figure. Once the nose gets under the tent flap, pretty soon the entire camel is in the tent. The camel’s nose is tax money and government controls that accompany it. Some time ago, private parochial colleges, began eying government money.

After a while, they found to their dismay that government money came with government strings. Some like the one I attended, leery of government intrusion, stopped immediately and returned the money.

This story was originally published June 24, 2017 at 1:43 PM with the headline "No public money for private schools."