Responds to Jore on education

Editor,

I experienced feelings of mild amusement upon reading Rick Jore's recent letter on state jurisdiction over education. Few would argue that primary control of educational systems should rest with states. Any strings attached to federal funding should only pertain to types of services offered such as full funding of special education mandates.

Actual content standards should be decided by individual states.

The humorous portion of Rick's letter was the inference that social progressives were behind Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can't blame Rick and his fellow evangelicals from wanting to distance themselves from Bush's reign of disaster. NCLB has created an unprecedented intrusion of federal control into state and local authority of public education. The results have been dangerous and often disastrous.

The intent of NCLB parallels policy trends through other areas of public policy. The federal government is seeking to strip local communities of power and individual citizens of their liberties. This is not the design of social progressives but of evangelical conservatives attempting to proselytize the world.

The other amusing aspect of Rick's letter is that he neglects to reiterate his previous positions regarding public education. My recollection is that Rick favors home-based and church-based schooling to the detriment of public education. Rick's recent letter suggests that Rick now supports a strong state education system. Has the leopard changed his spots?

One thing is perfectly clear: the rise of Democratic party influence has helped Montana's education system. Making our state education system stronger and financially sound will provide a better future for all of Montana.

David Daniels

Berkeley, Calif.