You may think of it as a massive error, but those of us who are not Evangelical Protestants are glad of it and cherish our right to the free exercise of our religion.
Graduates that can't read, graduates that can't do simple math, graduates that can't find Canada on a map, graduates who have never read the constitution, graduates that think pulling down a statue of Abraham Lincoln is actually a righteous act. I could go on and on and on. Big parts of the government school system are a mess. Rich people can always send their children to private schools. Those with modest means have real trouble affording that, and are thus trapped in sending their children to the government schools. This ruling provides a tiny bit of hope for those of us with modest means.
The problem has been that most parents cannot afford any but the government schools. Trapped. And even the most affordable of Catholic schools are out of reach. Scholarships do help, but Blaine Laws hurt. We finally have come to the point where most and maybe all parents of modest means can have a shot at school choice for their children. It's a matter of economic fairness.
My grandfather was on a public school board, my father was a public school teacher who sent his children to private schools, and my part was in providing competition to the public schools by assisting Catholic schools so the government schools didn't have an overwhelming monopoly.
The cost to educate in public schools is quite high, almost as if they were elite private schools. Catholic schools are (often - not always) much more moderate in cost to educate.
Yes. Parents who sent children to those schools paid taxes for public schools and tuition for non-public schools if they could afford it. Now things may change. I think the Supreme Court ruling applies to Montana alone and it may take some time and more lawsuits to become effective nationally. And it will change the cost of things. Of course education is in flux at the moment anyhow with adjustments due to Covid-19. Things are going to be very different come fall in ways that aren't even clear yet. I'm hearing they may stagger local classes locally to be MT and ThF with alternating Wednesdays. Not sure how that would actually work, but it's not popular. It's an interesting mess, and layering the Supreme Court decision on top makes it even more interesting. That and the mess that state and local governments will be facing due to economic shutdown. Taxes will be changing.
