Responds to Nathan Morin's letter

Stuart, Primary and Scondary education has been a public service since the 19th century and rightly so because we all depend on an educated populace to function. If schools were each run like businesses you would have a wide variety of educational preparation among workers in society, such that many would not share the same skills or knowledge, and in particular, the less prepared would be in various positions where they actually could obstruct basic commercial efficiency by reason of thier inadquacies. The unintended externalities flowing from such a system would bring our society as we know it to a halt. One would not be able to rely on the bank teller for an accurate deposit, the mechanic for a safe brakejob, the baker for a healthy loaf of bread, or the heavy machine operator for a safe forklift transport, etc., not to mention that the baselline of shared understanding which underlies the level of informed participation essential to a consitutional republic would decline to a point wehre we would end up with an oligarchical or authoritarian hierarchy to function at all. You don't have to look far to see that outocme in societies that do not have universal public education. Massachusetts, rated number 1 in education, spends $2000 more per pupil in state money rather than overburden the local property tax payers. That money comes proportionately from those with more of it because they have a more fair tax structure in Mass. They rate number one in economy and quality of life in large part because of their top public education system. As a result, New Hampshire even leeches off of them for jobs and commercial revenue. New Hampshire under Republicans, have simply cut business taxes and underfunded schools like Berlin's. That's why our students do not fare as well. So says the task force hired by the legislature to look into the issue, but only Democrats are perpared to follow its recommendations. That's why your party needs to be voted out from the top down.