jsalcedo
"Here is a good example:
Public schools. I spend $5200 per year in school taxes and have very little control in the quality of education my kid receives.
All I can do is complain, get involved and make up for the education short comings with my own tutoring.
I could put my kid in a private school of my choosing where my money as a customer made a difference in the quality of the curriculum and faculty.
But no... my $5200 is spent already and the government will seize my home if I refuse to pay.
My kids future has been compromised because I am FORCED to choose a state run monopoly."
First let me state that I am a little biasiast on the school issue. I work for one.
First off a public school is one of the places were your opinion counts the most. Voter turnout is relitivly small in most cases. Also the people that make all the policies of your school district are your neighbors. You can talk to them or even run for the BOARD. OMG you might have to get involved to change something you don't like.
Sure you can put your kid in a Private school, and the 5200 you spend on taxes would barly cover the cost of transporting one kid to a private school. Do you acctually know how much a bus costs? (In NY between 40 and 90 grand not including paying the driver and maintance of the bus) Or do you plan on rearranging your schedual to take you child to and from school.
Were I am from we are mandated by the state to transport a student to any private school of there parents choosing provided it is within 20 miles as the crow flies from the students driveway. There is no distance to great for a child that has "Special Needs". If your child was deaf or blind or whatever and the only place that could provide an education for them was say 700 miles away could you afford on your own to send them there till they were 21. Probably not . However we would provide the transportation, most likley a plane in this case. This has acctually been done in my area. They flew the student about 300 miles to Albany on monday morning and flew him home on friday afternoon.
In closing the only thing you are forced to do is pay your taxes(probably half of that 5200 is also town or city taxes used for roads and such isn't it), you can home school your children or send them to a private school of your choosing (taxpayer funded in some cases). Get involved or don't complain.