Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on November 12, 2008

Click here to view bill details.

I'm an involved parent from Beck Centennial Elementary in Macomb Township. As public school achievement targets and assessment requirements grow tougher year over year, education funding hasn't kept pace to support the infrastructure for making it all happen. We're reaching out more to parents, families, and the community for the basic resources and funding needed to meet the tougher curriculum and achievement standards; an approach that's becoming more a way of doing business than a stopgap measure. As a parent who's constantly pounding the pavement for alternate streams of funding and resources for our school, I'm in support of public school donations receiving income tax credit.

Pour more and more money into our public schools is a waste of taxpayer money. They are getting too much already, and look at the results. Accountability is the answer, NOT more taxpayers hard earned money!

 how about the money we pay in taxes getting a tax credit? in other words, how about schools, ALL SCHOOLS being MORE EFFICIENT with the way they spend our money?

how about schools STOP being nanny and start being EDUCATOR? that would save millions in wasted programs that provide nothing but hand holding to below average students, holdbacks to above average students, and SURROGATE PARENTING to troubled students.

the proper role of a school is to educate, not indoctrinate. we must rely on our parents to do their job, and not wring our hands when it doesn't happen. we must stop the government from becoming a surrogate parent when it thinks the REAL parents are not doing what they think should be done.

allow the real parents to do their job their way. even if it means HOMESCHOOLING.

now, i now the hue and whine will come up "what about those kids with no parents"?

well, WHAT ABOUT THEM?  for as long as we have been a state, we have had children without parents, effective or otherwise. people survived. in fact, people THRIVED. let's let it happen again. quit spending money on any program which is not educational but CODDLING.

Non-refundable tax credits now are available to taxpayers who make donations to:  Michigan colleges and universities and their fund-raising organizations; the Michigan Colleges Foundation; State Art in Public Places Fund; Michigan Historical Museum; Michigan public libraries; Michigan Public Broadcasting Stations; community foundations; cash donations to homeless shelters and food banks; and vehicle donations to certain organizations.

 

Public schools naturally and logically fit in that list. 

 

It is not just parents, by the way, who make substantial donations to public schools in the state.  Many, many empty-nesters in virtually every community continue to support their local schools.  Local businesses often are hugely generous.  Since we really are looking for ways to provide constructive tax breaks to individuals and businesses in this state and support the cause of public education, supporting this approach and the legislation to put it into effect makes sense.

 

Incidentally, this bill is sponsored by Republican Senator Alan Cropsey, who is known as a very conservative member of the legislature.  It is the kind of bill that should find enthusiastic support across the entire political spectrum.

 

so, tell me again why we should give our hard earned money to a school system we ALREADY PAY FOR? one that is FAILING in most objective tests to educate our children, and one that is CONSTANTLY demanding more and more of our hard earned money.

wouldn't our dollars be BETTER SPENT by funding the BEST PERFORMING METHOD OF EDUCATION?

the PRUSSIAN MODEL we use in our public schools CERTAINLY ISN'T IT.

now, i appreciate a good tax cut, but MORE money could be saved by simply demanding PERFORMANCE instead of mediocrity.

oh, by the way, i THOUGHT you were against government getting involved in PERSONAL DECISIONS. you should be against this one ON PRINCIPLE, or is this one of your famous cases of SLIDING PRINCIPLES?