Closing Doors
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Latham's plan to reduce funding to high-fee schools is an injustice and a stunt. It solves two electoral problems for him. It delights the envy-driven electors. And in a brazen con, he pretends the redirected dollars will increase excellence in poorly performing state schools.
He knows this money will not impact teaching standards. Most non-government schools already use less money per student and achieve higher standards. He would have to stand up to his unions in order to resolve the scandal of low standards. No sign of that.
It is an injustice to withdraw the present low level funding (about 25% of normal) from the children of the people who pay the highest taxes. It is doubly so because the wealthy who use state schools will still get 100% funding.
Most contradictory of all, by ignoring family means in his school funding scheme, Latham will remove the top rungs from his 'ladder of opportunity'. He will make it even more so that only wealth will get into a top school.
Philip O'Carroll