Posted on 09/25/2017 12:42:03 PM PDT by Sopater
Though there's some debate about the exact figure, one thing is certain: Homeschooling families nationwide are saving taxpayers a ton of money.
The Pioneer Institute, a free-market think tank in Boston, estimates the savings are roughly $22 billion annually.
"The homeschool families are paying their taxes, their property taxes, their local taxes, of course, their state and local taxes, and a small percentage of those go to the state and federal departments of education, and an even smaller percentage back to the local schools," explains Will Estrada, director of Federal Relations at the Home School Legal Defense Association. "But then the homeschooling families are not using services from the public schools."
As of last year, an estimated two million students were being homeschooled, and Estrada says there may come a time when homeschool families demand some fairness.
"It is a little unfair for homeschoolers and for private schoolers that we are helping to support the public schools," he points out. "No one is against that, but I think there's starting to be a growing chorus that there has to be some sort of fairness for homeschool families."
The state benefitting taxpayers the most is California, which enjoys $1.8 billion in annual savings.
People without cars pay road taxes, people without kids pay school taxes. fact of life.
Homeschoolers choose to remove their kids from the government school establishment. Fact of life.
Homeschoolers know that, just like people who send their kids to private school they will have to pay into the government school establishment and pay for their kids education themselves.
But, it’s a whole lot cheaper. We homeschooled our four kids all the way through high school. I don’t think we spent over $2000 in any one year. By the time number four was in high school, I’ll bet we hardly spent anything at all since we had all the books and supplies already.
So, we’re saving the government money because they get our taxes and don’t have to expend anything and our kids are getting a great education at a very, very low cost.
I think the actual number is much larger than 2 million. Just a few years ago the number was only 1 million.
The truth is no one knows for sure because no outfit keeps records.
Maybe it is just as well that the number seems small. Wouldn't want the NEA to get unnecessarily agitated.
Well ....
I'm against taxing people who don't use the government schools to support the government schools.
In fact, I'm against the very existence of government schools.
I think the news article pulled this a bit out of context. I’ve had lunch with Will Estrada and don’t believe him to be one who is in favor of homeschoolers taking government money with all the strings that would be attached.
I think too many parents are perfectly willing to contract out their children education. For those that aren’t where is their tax break for not using the government schools.
There is none.
We never had kids in the school system but we realized that we still had to pay through our taxes. I know some people who never had kids. They pay too.
Another fact of life is that the Federal gov’t has been delegated absolutely no constitutional authority to meddle in the school system, yet they unapologetically take my money anyway.
So true
And in college they didn’t need to spend money or time for remedial education either...
That’s not the way the Left looks at it.
They are stealing money from the teachers’ unions.
You can say the same about parents with children in private schools. It's a choice they make not to use the government provided option.
Now I get it. Charging people with no kids for schooling other peoples kids is THEFT. Right?
We knew that 20 years ago and chose to pay the cost and not get the negligible benefit
Nope. It's a choice.
Some private schools cost more than a semester in college! I checked where my nephew went in late 70’s - it was $18K for KINDERGARTEN! That’s ridiculous!
I wasn’t homeschooled, but I never saw the inside of a government school, except for typing class during a summer session.
You think private schools are expensive, price day care. That's what has my friends with kids up in arms.
I wasn’t homeschooled, but I never saw the inside of a government school, except for typing class during a summer session.
Me either. My parents scrimped and sent me to catholic grade school and high school and I went to a private university. They never expected the government to pay for it.
My husband worked for the local school district during our first six years of homeschooling. He was often told, though not by fellow teachers, that we were taking money away from the district. It seems to me that the school has replaced the church for many in smaller districts. They pour themselves into it -while their kids are there, anyway, and are protective of it. The accusations came more often from political conservatives. I’m sure the leftists just said it behind his back...until they lied and schemed to finally get him to resign.
He always answered that we still pay taxes yet it cost the district nothing to educate our kids.
Oh, and he added that there are plenty of teachers who lived outside the district whose kids never walked the halls here nor do they support the district with their property taxes. That got one guy (conservative republican) spitting mad; said that shouldn’t be allowed either.
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