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March 17, 2006:
Libertarian Chair Wants School Choice in Special Session
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Austin, TX - Mar 17, 2006 - "The upcoming legislative special session seems to be all about empowering government to take more taxes out of our pockets, and not about empowering teachers and parents to make choices," says Libertarian Party of Texas (LPT) chair Patrick Dixon.
Dixon continues, "Governor Rick Perry has set the special session on school finance in April to focus on tax plans to raise more revenue for the government education system. Perry has stated that he does not want reforms to be addressed in the session. Libertarians support reforms to allow parents to chose which schools best serve their children, and allow teachers to chose the best teaching methods to educate their class without a one-size-fits-all mandate from the state and federal government.
"I was brought up in Catholic schools because my parents wanted me to get a good education that included ethics and discipline. Parents of all income levels should have the ability to make choices that will best provide for their children.
"Opposition to school choice has often argued that many private schools are affiliated with churches, and that there should be separation of church and state. Religion is an important option to many Americans. As a participant in our church choir every Sunday and president of our church's men's club, I feel that many families benefit from freedom of religion. As people associate with a church freely, parents should be able to spend their education investment freely, whether it is to a religious or non-religious school.
"It's a shame people waste so much energy fighting over what's appropriate to teach our children. School choice would let all sides choose their own way. Parents would be able to choose schools with an appropriate religious component, no religion, or even a prohibition against religion. Additionally, parents could choose schools based on different methods for teaching math, language, and other subjects.
"The Libertarian Party has consistently supported efforts to solve the problem of a failing education system by returning power to parents and teachers to encourage choice and competition.
"Governor Perry should not limit the options. The problems of a failing education system should not be constrained to government-only solutions."
Contact:
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
email: director@lptexas.org
phone: 512-442-4910
Contact:
Patrick Dixon
Chair
email: chair@lptexas.org
phone: 512-771-3936
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