Hate the public schools? Then keep on cutting, legislators

Sometimes opportunity knocks, and sometimes it knocks down the door. For those who would like to rid society of the evil known as public education, the door is now rattling.

Idaho's current budget crisis has given those who view schools as expensive hotbeds of subversive thought a chance to finish off public schools while they're wounded, finally ridding society of these un-American institutions aligned with global organizations like I.B., an international program encouraging such dangerous ideas as cultural appreciation, diversity, and world peace.

And the righteous among us who worry about exposing our innocent children to the literature those so-called educated teachers would have them read will no longer have to worry about monitoring and censoring, because we now have a chance to get rid of the problem.

Yes, this financial crisis provides the excuse we have been waiting for to cut the flow of our hard-earned tax dollars to schools and to their overpaid teachers. And it's already started. The Legislature has approved a massive cut to statewide education of nearly $130 million, as serious a blow as schools have ever felt.

But wait, there's more! Smelling blood, the Idaho School Boards Association has joined the attack, as an e-mail sent to members in early March clearly shows. In it members are urged to contact their legislators to seek support for changes to Idaho code that would make anyone thinking about becoming an Idaho teacher think again, and then head for other states stupid enough to value education. But our wise legislators have already thought about that, offering less than a $30,000 salary to new teachers fresh out of college and deep in debt. That should keep them out.

Those already teaching here are being dealt with, also. The changes sought by the ISBA would allow school boards to enter contracts and negotiations agreements made in good faith in mid-year, would remove contract duration clauses, and would eliminate the pay raises teachers automatically earn with experience.

In addition the ISBA is exploring language changes to the code which would sunset agreements already made and require the entire master agreement to be re-negotiated. That ought to show those teachers.

And it may even be enough to send public school teachers packing. Then our kids could be at home with us or at private schools, which would cost parents but would get their little ones off the taxpayers' backs. After all, we taxpayers have already been to school. Why should we help someone else get what we were given?

So, Idaho, this is your chance to gut this mind-invading monster attempting to fill the brains of upcoming generations with math, science, literature, the arts, athletics and a whole bunch of other things that a thrifty working class doesn't need to know, frivolous knowledge that will only cause kids to dream big. And we all know how expensive and dangerous that can be.

Save our kids by telling your legislators you approve of the cuts they have made and the code changes being discussed by the ISBA. Encourage them to get rid of these troublesome public schools so they can get back to work on important items like Representative Dick Harwood's pending legislation on road killed animals.

Mike Ruskovich is a resident of Blanchard.