"Homeschoolers Are Some of the Best Friends the Taxpayer Has"

As a homeschooling mother as well as one of the founders of a Christian private school, I get into some really interesting discussions with people about the state of education in America today. I have heard the argument that homeschooling and private schools take funds away from needy public schools through the loss of potential students.

This article came from the Home School Legal Defense newsletter I just received today. I think it articulates the answer to this argument very clearly:

Homeschoolers Get Blamed, Again

On January 22, a committee of the Rapid City School Board implied that homeschoolers were to blame for the school system losing thousands of dollars in funding. Just six days later, the Clear Lake Courier blamed homeschoolers for the loss of $41,000 in school funding.

When homeschoolers are wrongly accused of creating financial problems for public school systems, it’s time to respond. HSLDA attorney Scott A. Woodruff sent the following letter to the editor to the Clear Lake Courier:

Dear Editor:

By leaving the blame for the school system losing $41,981 at the door of area homeschoolers, your recent article, “Students and aid lost from open enrollment,” encourages your readership to think that homeschoolers are the problem.

But it’s perfectly logical to reduce a school’s funding when it serves fewer students. If there are fewer students, the school needs less money.

The question that then remains is: “Since the opportunity to serve someone is a privilege, not an entitlement, what does the school plan to change to reduce the erosion of confidence among area families?” That’s the $41,000 question that went unasked and therefore unanswered in your article.

Next time the Clear Lake Courier talks about schools “losing” money because of homeschoolers, please mention how much homeschoolers save the taxpayer by educating their children at their own expense—not the taxpayers’. Homeschoolers are some of the best friends the taxpayer has.

Sincerely,
Scott A. Woodruff, Esq.