Here is the video urging private school parents to “scam” state for tuition money
UPDATE on Thursday morning: Please note that the video has been removed. I suspect that the public outrage drove that decision.
Here is the video explanation of the state’s private school state scholarship by state Rep. David Casas, R-Lilburn. Please look at this to fully understand how this Legislature-approved program — characterized as a way for poor children in persistently failing schools to afford private schools — has become a back door for middle class parents to use tax dollars to pay their private school tuition bills.
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131 comments Add your comment
Truth in Moderation
May 24th, 2012
1:30 am
@Paranoia
Was that a Catholic school?
I’m sorry your parents wasted their money.
Truth in Moderation
May 24th, 2012
2:08 am
Credit for above post:
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/idUS424631725620120523
BehindEnemyLines
May 24th, 2012
3:50 am
Anything that puts money to good use instead of throwing it down the dry hole of public (re)education is good by me. It’d be better used as kindling that wasting it on many of the glorified taxpayer funded babysitting facilities it’s currently thrown away at.
ClayCO
May 24th, 2012
6:10 am
Maureen I wish your children or grand children were in the Clayton County school system and see how your opinion on this might change.
GB
May 24th, 2012
6:21 am
The word “scam” is in quotation marks in the headline. What can the headline possibly mean other than what it says? That is, that Casas is urging parents to scam the state and actually used that word.
I listened to the video and heard no such thing. Did I miss it? Or is someone lying?
Linkster
May 24th, 2012
6:26 am
How is this a “scam”? Why shouldn’t the money follow the child? Anyone who pays taxes is funding public education. If we choose not to use the public schools, why shouldn’t the taxes we pay for public schools follow our children to private school? Why do public schools get to keep our money when the tax dollars collected for educating our children are not used by the public schools? If anything, their budgets should be cut for every eligible student that does not attend public schools. Public schools are spend more to educate children than do private schools, yet, their results are markedly inferior. Second, public schools are now teaching political, social and moral views that are not related to education and are often contrary and abhorrent to the views we are trying to instill in our children. Schools should be politically, socially, and morally without viewpoint. They should teach reading, writing and arithmetic, and not “social justice”, “democrat politics” or “socialism”. If they did their job and effectively teach our children, I think more people would use them. Instead, they cheat on tests, cheat on hiring, misuse our funds, and indoctrinate our kids in left-wing political ideals. Enough is enough. Schools and public officials should be held accountable for the funds they use. Any business that operated like the public education system would be out of business fifty years ago. They must be held accountable.
Paul Williams
May 24th, 2012
6:38 am
Maureen, as the Headmaster at Killian Hill Christian School, named in Rep. Casas’ 2009 video, I want to make a few corrections to his presentation. KHCS has never taken scholarship funds and issued them to students who were currently enrolled at KHCS. Rep. Casas states that KHCS used money to keep students in school whose parents had lost jobs and were going to have to leave the school. This is a factual misstatement. While we would be happy for Rep. Casas to apply for enrollment at KHCS, he has never done so. KHCS has been extremely careful to use the funds as the bill allows requiring that students be entering a private school for the first time and have a validated financial need.
KHCS does support the right for parents to have school choice. Without the GASSO funds the families that attend KHCS under this program would not have a choice in the education of their child even though as homeowners, they are contributing to the education of all children. In a political climate that screams for “fairness” and attempts to level out all income earners, I am surprised you and those who commented below are opposed to a program which affords the low-income earners the same opportunity for private education generally limited to high-income earners.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
6:45 am
Enter your comments here
BlahBlahBlah
May 24th, 2012
6:47 am
The rationalizing of this pathetic program by certain folks here is amusing.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
6:48 am
Very interesting. We have Paul Williams refuting Rep. Casas’ statements. Who is telling the truth? Is Rep. Casas the typical republican making stuff up as he goes along? Time to vote him out.
thewayifeel
May 24th, 2012
7:04 am
@the cat – Casas is in Lilburn (Parkview and Brookwood) district of Georgia. So conservative, only the cold water works in mosts houses (right knob on your sink,,,ha ha ha) and you have four large private schools in that district. He’s there for a while.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
7:08 am
I live in the Parkview district, we are not all republicans. Far from it. We chose to move to this school district for the fine schools. Rep. Casas has to go and I will be working diligently to see this happens.
patrick crabtree
May 24th, 2012
7:09 am
@Linster….WHY you ask? Because the constitution say free, PUBLIC, not private education. You want more…..PAY FOR IT! Just as my parents did for 6 years until they found out how much better public schools were. We have always had choices. Pay for it. You don’t like public, work within the sytem and change it! Eliteism only will set your child up for failure.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
7:10 am
Maureen, if you are still reading comments. Please find out how Killian Hill and Greater Christian are financing their huge new campuses. Doesn’t pass the smell test as Killian Hill has fewer than 500 students and suddenly there are new buildings, soccer fields, etc. Who made the deal with the devil?
patrick crabtree
May 24th, 2012
7:10 am
Ooops, typo……says not say
Old Physics Teacher
May 24th, 2012
7:42 am
I’ve got 2 comments, and I’m outta here:
1) The object of taxes is to fund community costs – not individual costs. Examples are (but not exclusively) protection for the entire population, road construction, garbage collection, and yes, education, because a literate population is necessary if WE are to vote to keep OURSELVES alive and healthy as a society. If you wish further than bare minimum of these “benefits,” you pay for the extra yourself.
Under a progressive tax system, the more wealthy pay a higher rate as they have more at risk if the society goes under. Under a one-vote-one”-man” election system, your income/wealth is irrelevant to the decision-making process. (see the current US Congress for what happens if this convention is voided)
2) I’M SHOCKED, SHOCKED I SAY, THAT OUR STATE LEGISLATORS ARE SWINDLERS!!
You guys voted for them, and you get what you deserve.
I’m outta here as you all knew this was going to happen, you voted for these…I can’t use the term in a family setting. Each and every one of you, and I include Maureen, knew this was going to happen when they were voted in. The entire legislative system is corrupt, and like Diogenes I’ve been looking and I haven’t found one yet. Progressives/Democrats are culpable because you try, try, and try again to be reasonable with these (name withheld) instead of fighting them with your entire being. Conservative/Republicans are culpable as they voted in these (name withheld). Those of you with the “me, me, me, because I deserve ….” are simply beneath contempt. You did this to yourself.
Repeat: There is no need to whine and SHOUT back at me with your feeble defenses. I’m off this thread.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
7:48 am
I cannot help vote Casas out as I am just out of his district. I will be working with our friends in the Brookwood area to vote him out.
Jeff
May 24th, 2012
7:50 am
Where are all the people who ran to the defense of ACORN for doing the exact same thing?
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
May 24th, 2012
7:51 am
Where are the Dick Russells, the Carl Vinsons and the Sam Nunns when Georgia needs them?
GwinnettParentz
May 24th, 2012
8:01 am
Kudos to Rep. Casas for shepherding this program through the legislature. And thank you Choice is American, Choice Advocate and others for countering the distortions of teachers’ union surrogates.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
8:11 am
Gwinnettparentz-please explain what “distortions” you are referring to in your post. Was there anything posted that is not true?
A Conservative Voice
May 24th, 2012
8:17 am
@Choice Advocate
May 23rd, 2012
7:46 pm
Maureen, you are COMPLETELY against school choice. You should come clean and find a job teaching at a public school instead of falsely representing a newspaper that should be unbiased.
To “Choice Advocate” – I, too am against using taxpayer funds for “School Choice”. The beginning of the ruiniation of public schools began when “Integration” of our school systems was “forced” upon us by the Supreme Court. Neighborhood schools have always been the lure of the public school system. You live in a neighborhood and your children (white, black, red, green, purple, etc.) go to the neighborhood school. This creates the ideal of parents working with parents to create a great learning environment for their children. You move to a neighborhood to take advantage of that neighborhoods school reputation…….now that’s real “School Choice”, not using taxpayer money to disrupt the harmony created by parents working together. If you don’t want your children to go to the neighborhood school, send your kids to a private school. Folks, we’ve got to stop this nonsense…..our state, counties and cities can no longer afford it……we’re drowning in debt and worst of all we’re hurting our childrens education process.
Mary Elizabeth
May 24th, 2012
8:24 am
I have just finished reading the book “Family of Secrets” by award winning investigative journalist Russ Baker about the “Bush Dynasty,” as the subtitle states. I was stunned at how relentlessly, ruthlessly, and secretively those within that power structure have used our government, through government public taxpayers funds, to take care of their own financial self-interests. The book is thoroughly documented and footnoted. Go here to find out more: http://www.familyofsecrets.com
Now, we have here in Georgia, representatives of the legislature who are attempting to openly use public taxpayer dollars for their own private self-interests instead of understanding that public tax dollars are meant to serve the common good of all of Georgia’s citizens, and that educational funds from public tax dollars are meant to serve all of Georgia’s children. Rep. David Casas seems to only be conscious of, and only care about, a particular group of students. What about the masses of Georgia’s children who will remain in public schools in which their public school’s funds will have been depleted through the efforts of people such as Rep. Casas?
As a teenager, I was thoroughly disappointed that during the 1950s and 1960s in Georgia most white people did not seem to care about the poor, disadvantaged black students who were in segregated schools and these fellow Georgians only thought about their own children and sought private schools to put them in, as a result.
Will Georgians ever raise their consciousness to see beyond the framework of “I look after me and mine”? And, now, through the efforts of Davis Casas and others, Georgians will continue to think “I will use the government, and government funds, to take care of me and mine.”
This from people, of both eras in Georgia’s history, who call themselves Christians. I am sad for Georgia, and for my fellow Georgians, this morning that many do not care to understand the deeper truths of what is happening through the thinking and efforts of Rep. Casas and others who think as he does, and what their efforts are doing to our collective souls.
skipper
May 24th, 2012
8:28 am
If the public schools had not become such a CLUSTER (and they are) with assistants to the assistants, diversity counselors, assistants to the diversity counselor, and assistants to the assistant of the counselor, etc. people would not be looking for any way out they could find! Yes, a public education was discussed way back, but it has morphed into a B.S. factory with no focus on the three R’s like the MANY countries that are so far ahead of us……..libs talk about the use of the law and scream, when many are taking medicaid, stamps, etc.
83jacket
May 24th, 2012
8:36 am
Interesting how Liberals like Mary Elizabeth think its the responsibility of white Georgians to leave their kids in failing schools for the betterment of society. This is a typical response of liberals. My parents sent me to a private school because the Bibb County Board of Education was going to remove me from my neighborhood school located less than 1 mile from my home and buss me 45 minutes one way to a school on the other side of town in the name of racial diversity. My parents did not stand for this misguided policy and I would not stand for it when it comes to my children.
larry
May 24th, 2012
8:42 am
So here i am sending in my hard earned tax money so a bunch of wealthy people ( not middle class) can send their kids to private and Christian schools. Hmmmmmmmm…
1) There are no private schools in our area nor in our county , so why am i supporting someone elses choice when i dont have it. My sister sends her son to a private school , but THEY PAY FOR IT. THEY DONT LOOK TO THE STATE FOR A HAND OUT.
2) Government funds being used to support kids going to a Christian school is unconstitutional. As in ” Government shall not support the establishment of any one religion” . Of course , if kids were being sent to a Muslim school using government funds, the Repubs would say ” The state is supporting terrorism”.
SBinF
May 24th, 2012
8:42 am
So many parents on the board who think that cheating the government is ok. I’m sure you’re passing your rock solid morals on to your kids.
If you want to send your kids to private school, pay for it yourself. Public schools are just that….public. Everyone benefits from them (even people like me with no children). The argument that the money should follow the child threatens the existence of government. Why stop at schools? Shouldn’t I be allowed to decide how all of my tax money is allocated?
Next point, by that logic, I have no children, so why am I forced to pay taxes to support schools which I am not using?
Fallacious reasoning, all around…
Truth in Paranoia
May 24th, 2012
8:53 am
@Moderation
Nope. No Catholic school. But your obsession with Catholics is pretty amusing. Not as amusing as your lack of understanding the Constitution, but still amusing.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
8:55 am
83jacket-we do not care that you went to a private school as long as your parents paid for it and not tax payers. See the difference?
Grifter
May 24th, 2012
8:57 am
Yeah the problem with you folks and your ‘private schools’ is that these are religious institutions, not Woodward Academy. Yes, taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to pay for your son’s or daughter’s cult indoctrination classes. If you want to fill your kid’s head with fairy tales you shouldn’t be able to use taxpayer funds to do it. I do believe that is in the constitution, something you conservatives always wear on your chests until your imaginary friend comes into it.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
9:03 am
I find it very telling Rep. Casas has not come here to defend his words on the video posted. What is he hiding? Is there truth to what Headmaster Williams writes?
catlady
May 24th, 2012
9:12 am
Conservative Voice: How old are you and where did you grow up?
the cat
May 24th, 2012
9:13 am
Here is Rep. Casas’ website:
http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/house/bios/casasDavid/casasDavid.htm
I encourage everyone to contact him to express your dismay or satisfaction with this program.
BuckeyeinGa
May 24th, 2012
9:23 am
This is nothing more than folks gaming the system..sad, but not surprising.
Gerald
May 24th, 2012
9:29 am
The issue here isn’t school choice, which I support. It is the abuse of the scholarship program. It is easy to fix. Just close the loophole, or get a court to rule it illegal. But this does show that the folks who are acting in this manner don’t want “those people” at “their schools.” Which is fine. Who needs them. But I don’t want my tax dollars supporting them. That is the issue. If it is my tax dollars, let it go to people who have morals. And to the people who are doing this, I am a fundamentalist Christian. Allow me to say that hell is hot, and thieves and cheats are going to burn there forever. Which is exactly why Luther Rice Seminary needs to fire David Casas.
Living in an outdated ed system
May 24th, 2012
9:48 am
This debate is absolutely ridiculous. Until the AJC adds a second, alternative perspective on education issues, you will all take everything @Maureen says as the “holy grail.”
If a “moral hazard” has been discovered with this policy, then it needs to be amended, SOLELY to eliminate the moral hazard. I can tell you that MANY private schools are using these scholarship programs effectively, and ethically, and they should NOT be penalized for the good they’re doing. This was a VERY effective program in that it helps families who cannot afford private schools.
Why not let these children have a chance at a good education? Lets do the math. If a family has a choice between APS and a private school, which would you choose? APS spends almost as much per child as the Atlanta private schools, yet only graduates half of them! That choice is a no-brainer!
This is a good program and for some families, this is invaluable. Why not let the folks who can afford private school help others to have the same opportunities?
Instead of scaring everyone into thinking this program is the evil empire, why don’t you write a more “balanced” post, @Maureen, and simply suggest that perhaps the program requires adjustment? The problem with your post is that it is not only hostile, but clearly biased.
Gerald
May 24th, 2012
9:49 am
Sorry, not Luther Rice Seminary but Berea Bible College.
83jacket
May 24th, 2012
10:12 am
The Cat…I see the difference but Mary Elizabeth does not.
Shar
May 24th, 2012
10:17 am
I am for school choice and believe that the monopoly school districts enjoy coupled with guaranteed tax funding has effectively insulated them from being forced to make the changes that are so badly needed.
However, I also recognize that I have a fundamental responsibility to pay taxes and to participate in the county, state and federal system. I do not pay the huge apportionment for Grady Hospital in order to subsidize my own health care; I pay it to support my fellow citizens’ health and, selfishly, to provide access to treatment that might otherwise end up starting an epidemic. I do not pay the enormous allotment to the Department of Defense in the expectation that I’ll have a Navy SEAL stationed outside of my living room window, but rather to defend the country and thereby give me a safer world.
I do not pay school taxes in order to fund my own child. I couldn’t – it costs significantly more in per-pupil spending than I contributed when my children were in public school. I relied on the tax contributions of all Atlantans, with help from the state and the feds, to cover the costs of my children’s attendance. The fact that I live in a high property tax area and therefore pay more than many other people did not entitle my kids to “better” treatment in classrooms than the kids who were there from shelters, any more than it entitled them to a bigger per-pupil expenditure than non-taxpayers’ kids. In fact, they received significantly less as they neither qualified nor needed the additional services that the schools have to provide to those needing extra help. And when my husband and I felt that the public schools could not offer what 2 of my 3 kids needed, we made the choice to send them elsewhere – and we paid for it from our own pockets.
Tax money is not “yours”, unless you are Sonny Perdue deciding where a road should go. Tax money is “ours”, and is spent on the priorities that our representatives determine through, ideally, debate and compromise. You don’t get to decide where your own tax money goes, with the sole exception of that $1 check off for political campaigns on your income tax form. That is both the beauty and the frustration of taxation. It’s bigger than you, and it is for a bigger purpose.
This program was set up to undermine that basic compact that exists between all of us, and it is doing the job that Casas and his pals meant it to. A hugely troubling part is the secrecy that has been purposely built around it – the suggestions that have been made to look into the program cannot be done, as it has become a crime to release information about where this public money is going. That is, to me, the worst feature of this program – the purposeful shutting out of oversight and therefore accountability from the general public who are indeed funding it with “our” money.
Casas shows himself in the video to be playing with the truth at best and intentionally conniving to defraud taxpayers at worst. He clearly implies that he designed the program to be gamed by people clever enough to see the loopholes he points out at the expense of others who he has done all he can to shut out, by not allowing either oversight or requiring voting to renew the funding. He’s slimy and divisive and meretricious, and his approach is an assault on the very notion of paying taxes for the good of the citizenry and nation.
I don’t get to siphon off my Medicare taxes because I think your grandma shouldn’t have smoked and therefore doesn’t deserve health care. You don’t get to siphon off your property taxes because you think my kid is poorly behaved as doesn’t deserve education. It’s unAmerican, unworkable and just wrong.
Just A Teacher
May 24th, 2012
10:33 am
I weighed in on this topic yesterday. In the video, Rep. Casas claims that it would take a constitutional amendment to remove this program, but that is not true. It could be struck down by the courts if it was proven to be unconstitutional (which I believe it very well might be). I know there are reputable private schools, but I also know that some private schools are not reputable. In fact, many private schools opened in this state (and throughout the Southeast) in response to the forced desegregation of public schools in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In effect, under this law, some people are eligible for a tax break for sending their children to segregated schools.
Some private schools endorse a particular religion and gear their curriculum around that dogma. I have no problem with that except that there is a clause in our federal constitution which guarantees a separation of church and state. So tax dollars shouldn’t be diverted from government agencies in order to fund religious indoctrination. I know many Christian fundamentalists will take issue with this, so I would ask them if they feel that an Islamic fundamentalist school (or Buddhist, or Wiccan, or any other cult) should receive the same tax break.
And finally, I would like to say that although the public schools are far from perfect, there is a reason for their existence. Public schools exist in order to educate the general population and unite the communities around them in the common cause of educating the children who live there. I believe in that mission. If a segment of the population does not wish to be included in that mission, I don’t believe they should get a break on their taxes for it.
Maureen Downey
May 24th, 2012
10:48 am
@To all, I asked the governor’s office if, indeed, Gov. Deal was aware that lawmakers were telling parents not to worry about the pesky issue of enrolling their child in a public school for appearance sake — so that it appears to the public the tax credit is going to poor kids moving from public school to private as it was originally described.
Or that parents cannot only designate which school gets the donation, but which student.
As I suspected, I received a carefully crafted response but still an interesting one for what it omits — a clear statement from the governor that he agrees with state. Rep. Casas’ questionable interpretation.
My question to the governor was whether he agreed and endorsed what Rep. Casas said on the video. I sent a detailed follow repeating that question, but yet to have a response, another telling point. There is a lot to be understood by the questions that get immediate responses from elected officials but sometimes even more from the questions they choose to ignore.
From the gov’s spokesman:
“It’s unfortunate that the discussion of the scholarship program ignores the vast amount of good it accomplishes by giving many Georgia families the means to afford the best education possible. Gov. Deal is committed to accountability in all areas of state government, and he would work with the Legislature on tightening the rules on this scholarship to make sure we get the best return possible on this investment.”
GwinnettParenttz
May 24th, 2012
10:55 am
Listened to the whole 8-plus minutes of the featured video and can’t see how Rep. Casas says anything at all that deserves the “scam” slander in the blog headline.
Maureen, you owe him and readers an apology.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
11:00 am
GwinnettParenttz-the whole program is a scam and Rep. Casas is encouraging parents to use the scam just like he does! Why is this so difficult to understand? The whole thing is unconstitutional and should be struck down immediately. Pay for your kids to go to private school, don’t use my taxes.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
11:03 am
Maureen-thanks for the update. Please continue to pursue this and report back to us.
Maureen Downey
May 24th, 2012
11:08 am
@Gwinnett, If you listened to the whole tape — which now you can’t do since it was taken down, likely because of what it contained — then you heard a dad ask why this wasn’t considered a scam since the purpose of the law — expressed at every hearing I attended — was to move kids attending PUBLIC schools to private schools. Casas says that everyone is on board with this new view that kids don’t have to attend, but only enroll. And he reassures the man, don’t feel bad because everyone in the Legislature and Gov. Deal knew what they were doing when they tweaked the law to say “enroll” rather than “attend.”
By the way, if you listened to the entire tape, tell me once where the state rep references the poor kids in failing public schools for whom this law was allegedly created. He references the kids of the middle class parents in the room; he references the kids in a local private school whose parents lost their jobs and were able to use the tax credit to stay in the school — which now we have a disclaimer here on the blog from that school’s headmaster saying Casas misspoke on that point — and he references his own kids.
I don’t get your inability to see the distortions here. I attended three legislative hearings on this bill where it was stated again and again that this law was only for kids in public schools. In fact, I had the press people calling me weekly to talk to yet another single mom who hoped to use this law to move her child from a public school to a Christian or Catholic school.
How is what Casas is now saying not a distortion of that stated purpose?
As many other posters have said to you, this is not about choice. Please give us a break from the bumper sticker responses about parental choice and look at the facts: This law was sold to the General Assembly and public as a way to get poor kids ATTENDING under performing public schools to allegedly better private schools.
It was debated whether it could apply to kids already in private schools and that was rejected.
Yet, now it somehow is applying to those kids.
During the hearings, it was said that parents could not designate their donation for a specific student. Yet, Casas opens his comments by declaring that parents can designate the child, even telling folks that they may feel this law “sounds too good to be true.”
This is about ethics. This is about public deception.
Maureen
Parent Teacher
May 24th, 2012
11:12 am
If it is not a scam why was the video removed?
the cat
May 24th, 2012
11:15 am
I suggest those that get stuck with their fingers in the candy jar when this law will hopefully be reversed, return the monies scammed from tax payers with interest. Rep. Casas should step down.
the cat
May 24th, 2012
11:17 am
Hmmm-video removed by whom?
Maureen Downey
May 24th, 2012
11:18 am
@Parent. Just realized it was taken down. I suspect that the comments from the headmaster that Casas misspoke played a part, as well as the mounting public outrage. Hope you folks saw it yesterday. I took detailed notes on the comments the lawmaker made. I also sent this video to the governor’s office and don’t know if there was pressure from that quarter to remove it.
Maureen
It is to laugh
May 24th, 2012
11:27 am
I am 100% for vouchers and for private schools. I am a public school teacher and I would like nothing more than some of my students to go to a private school.
Take my kids from single parent families, do not take medication for their SEVERE ADHD and have an IQ that barely keeps them from special needs.
Go ahead, educate them! I want you to do a better job than I can. I obviously cannot teach them but a private school will certainly be able to with no problem.
Better yet, take the special needs students and get them to pass the EOCT’s and Writing test the state gives. Oh, and DO NOT kick them out of the school if they don’t meet your specific standards. They got the public funds to be there. Keep them, educate them and turn them into the productive members of society.
I will be waiting for them at graduation.