I must admit, after reading Mr. Hasenmiller’s article on the benefits of private schools, I became confused. Not because he made an argument that rattled my perception, but because he made an argument against public schooling while attending one.

If Mr. Hasenmiller didn’t know already, Iowa State University receives funds from the state of Iowa who, in turn, got the funds from the taxpayers.

I would think that if Mr. Hasenmiller truly believed in what he was saying, he would be attending one of the several private institutions in the state.

There are two things I would like to question concerning Mr. Hasenmiller’s argument. First, taxes. Private schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, charge roughly $4,000-$6,000 a year. If I’m an average Iowan and earn roughly $28,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, I would find it difficult to pay for my child to attend a private school. If I had a child, just one, and he or she attended school for 12 years, it would cost me $60,000. If instead, I paid taxes for 55 years — given the average life expectancy of an American, 77, minus the age at which most people begin to pay property taxes, 22 — at roughly $700 — going by Mr. Hasenmiller’s estimates — I would end up paying $38,500. It appears that for an average Iowan, public school is cheaper, and thus more people have the ability to get a proper education.

My second problem with a for-profit school system is that I think it would promote things other than a good general education. Sports would be raised to an even higher level above education than they already are. Sponsorships and advertising would come into play, further removing education from the goals of the school. Instead of concentrating on giving the students a broad education, the school would begin to be even more concerned about money. We already see these kinds of problems at our colleges and universities, and Mr. Hasenmiller’s ideas would bring them to our children.

I feel that I’m going to have to agree with the majority of our founding fathers that public education is beneficial to the country as a whole and should be maintained. It’s affordable, so more people can obtain it. It’s liberal, so people understand more about the world, science, math and language. I think Mr. Hasenmiller, and anyone else who thinks privatizing the school system is a good idea, needs to rethink the implications.

Jared Godby

Sophomore

Political Science