Editor, The News:
Re: Public schools versus private ones (Letters, June 6).
Oh dear, Cherryl Katnich attacks the logic of Stacy MacLennan in her suggestion that private schools be entirely privately funded.
It’s not Ms. MacLennan whose argument requires justification, I’m afraid.
Public school is just that – public. It’s there for everyone. Like roads and bridges, public transit, basic medical coverage, we all pay so we can all benefit.
If an individual chooses to drive a car instead of taking the bus, the public isn’t expected to pay for the car.
If I want to go to a private American hospital to get faster service than visiting my general practitioner or a local hospital, I may. What I may not do is expect you to foot the bill.
Why, then, do we have public money going to private schools?
We fund a public education system so that everyone can have an education.
An individual who chooses to remove his or her child from that system in the interest of pursuing a private solution ought not to have that decision subsidized by the public.
The hope that more people will move to private schools is exactly what keeps the B.C. Liberals from properly funding the public system.
The public system welcomes the influx of students that Ms. Katnich mentions.
Pull funding from private schools, allowing parents who can afford it to pay the full rate, and those who can’t to enroll their kids in public school.
Then, and only then, will we see the B.C. Liberals address the devastation they’ve created in the public system, and fund that system properly.
Scott McCafferty
Maple Ridge
