Saturday, March 10, 2007

News-Leader offers rose to Missouri House

In the weekly "Roses and Thorns" feature in its opinion section, the Springfield News-Leader offers a richly-deserved "rose" to the Missouri House of Representatives for his sound defeat of Rep. Carl Bearden's tuition tax credit (more accurately a welcome to vouchers) bill:

A ROSE: To the Missouri House for soundly defeating a proposed tax-credit scholarship bill that would have shifted money from the state budget to private schools. The back-door voucher proposal was a poorly conceived attempt to improve inner-city schools. That hard work still remains.


Voters in this area should not forget that this slap in the face to public schools was co-sponsored by four area representatives- Ed Emery, R-Lamar, Steve Hunter, R-Joplin, Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, and Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City. Those four, plus Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, voted in favor of the bill. The only area representative on the winning side of the vote was Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Randy- If you had read the bill you would know it is NOT a voucher bill. In fact no state money goes into it at ALL. Know your facts before you start bashing our local officials.

Randy said...

There is absolutely no doubt it is a voucher bill. This same tactic has been used in other states as a way of opening the door for vouchers. Giving it an impressive name like tuition tax credits does not make into anything except what it is..a voucher bill.