I think Roy’s right on target, both on the root cause of President Bush’s policy mistakes (when his aim pulled too far to the left) and the best response (grab your opponent and pull him over his center of balance).
I missed a similar opportunity with a reporter this week who asked whether homeschoolers had a negative impact on school funding — a new argument locally though it’s been tried in other states. I was a bit surprised, and told her that since they represent 5% or less of the state’s school-aged kids, I really wouldn’t see that as a threat to public school budgets. Which is true as far as it goes.
On the other hand, what I should have said was gracious, NO, we’re helping the school system by paying bucketloads of property taxes and taking none back in the form of educational services. In fact, local districts ought to be encouraging more of these families, thanking them, not worrying about some conjectural budget twitch.
I also could have raised the question that, with both Wake and Johnston counties singing the blues Tuesday night about overcrowding, modular classrooms, and the cost of new construction, has anyone considered the impact of dropping five thousand new students in one district and twelve hundred in the other, if homeschooling were outlawed tomorrow ? How would that suit your budgets ?
