Dear Dr. Wayne Gann, Chairman of the Mississippi Board of Education,
In
today's Mississippi Press you offered a self-serving and meager rebuttal to U.S. senatorial candidate,Chris McDaniel's support for abolishing of the Department of Education. I guess I should not have expected anything less from someone whose very job is largely dependent on the federal funding in which McDaniel wants to cut.
A few thoughts:
"I have been a lifelong proponent of public education. I believe it offers the greatest opportunity for students to succeed in life, and as a result, improve the state's economy and our quality of life."
Of course you are! You make your living off of the public school system? Are there no other alternatives other than the federally financed public school system? Perhaps home school or private schools or school choice vouchers or charter schools or parochial schools?
"The nearly $800 million in federal funds Mississippi receives accounts for 24 percent of the state's overall education budget. . . Can you imagine how devastating this would be for the children of this state to not receive the money they need?"
Can you imagine, Dr. Gann, that perhaps the state of Mississippi and every state across the nation has grown complacent with their education budgeting given the extent of federal funding? Personally, I am embarrassed by the fact that states like Mississippi are dependent on federal funding for nearly 25% of your K-12 education budget. I consider that the height of irresponsibility to be beholden to a nearly bankrupt federal government.
"Federal law requires states to provide the necessary services for students with special needs. The loss of federal funds would force the state to generate the needed dollars to provide the same level of services, resulting in massive state and local tax increases and chaos in the state budget."
Again, Dr. Gann, you miss the point entirely! The tip-off is in your first three words, "federal law requires". If you listen to Chris McDaniels, you would have heard him say things like, "the Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to get involved in the education of the nation's children, therefore the Department of Education and all the money that comes with it should go away." If you truly understood the founding of this country, you would be appalled by the paragraph you wrote. What right does Washington, D.C. have to tell the people of Mississippi what services to provide to students with special needs. I am confident that the people of Mississippi could figure that out on their own.
"Someone has to speak for the boys and girls in our public schools, and I feel it is my duty to do just that. I urge you to join me in standing up for public education."
With your many years of experience in public education, I am sure that you are aware of the lack luster performance on the part of American children compared to other nations around the world. The poor performance just happens to coincide with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. How can that be Dr. Gann? The federal government's reaches its tentacles into the education of our children, which was previously managed quite well by states and local communities, and performance subsides!
