Dennis Tuuri

Full PEAPAC Analysis

Long term, our goal is the elimination of the State’s role in education. The Bible clearly puts the responsibility on parents to educate their own children (Deut. 6). While it is perfectly legitimate, and often beneficial, for parents to band together and form schools, hire tutors, etc., the St ate’s role in this is dubious at best. For the civil government to coercively take money from one citizen to pay for the education of another citizen is wrong. In addition, as J. Gresam Machen predicted long ago, government schools have become the greatest machinery for atheism this sin-rent world have ever seen. We are thus loathe to do anything to clean the public schools. Jon Lofton once said of those who seek to reform public education, “What are you going to do? Bounce the rubble?”

It is not our intent in endorsing this Measure to try to reform government schools. But as long as the State offers this “service” to parents, and pays for it with income taxes it has compelled us to give, it seems appropriate to insist that they demonstrate accountability by testing annually and making these test scores known. Secondarily, this Measure may well also move us one step closer to the end of government schools. Home schoolers are currently required to test annually, and it would be a delight to lobby the Legislature and the public with both sets of test scores in hand! Baby steps, but we advocate a YES vote on this Measure.