Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell
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POLITICS<br />
Tax cuts for private school parents<br />
77K Met of l.'/linn IU cmf/u<br />
ha» b€«u «t faue for utvr a deca Seoalur Bob Paeimrf. a<br />
RapubUcait. and Pmidral RooaJd<br />
R<br />
pp of Uiff plan lacfadc<br />
SaMor Emcn F. HolM/im, a<br />
Ocraccnt. and totmtr Vice Presiifeal<br />
Walter Moodab.<br />
Con: Plan erodes<br />
public education<br />
By Alex Uo<br />
Although Congress hu denied<br />
attempt* to give tax break* to<br />
parents of private school students.<br />
Pretkleot Ronald Reagan still continue*<br />
to Gy to have the plan pau*<br />
eJ.<br />
11M Reagat. Admlrlstratlon haft<br />
conttBocd to support the plan,<br />
despite strong opposition, la fact.<br />
Republican* have supported such<br />
an Idea Iu 1973. 1978, 1981. and<br />
1982, and there U talk of resume<br />
ting a blU attain In 1984.<br />
Scatter Eroeit P. Hollings, one<br />
of tuition tax credit'* most<br />
outspoken opponents, estimated<br />
that U the plan proposed In 1982<br />
west paued. the U.S. govcrncccnt<br />
mold have tost at least *4 bUlloa<br />
In revenue.<br />
"It is the duty<br />
of all individuals<br />
to suppon.<br />
public<br />
education." —<br />
Senator Ernest<br />
F. Hollings<br />
"That's jutt a tout In the door,<br />
though." said Holllngi.<br />
He predicts that if U c precedent<br />
b srt for suppontJg tultion-bawd<br />
schools, public school* would start<br />
charging tuition so ihey would<br />
receive additional federal subsidies.<br />
Thomas Shannon, executive<br />
director of the National School<br />
Boards Association, wrote that If<br />
the pUn were to pass, private<br />
tennis would rccrirc more per<br />
student than public school*.<br />
-Proponents are seeking a max><br />
Imura credit of SSCO. and that's<br />
only /or openers; this compares<br />
with direct federal expenditures of<br />
fos than 1U5 per pupU In the<br />
public schools," wrote Shannon.<br />
Today, In oof pluralistic and<br />
culturally an* racially diverse n»lion,<br />
public school* need<br />
straightening - and certainly not<br />
ti* weakening that goes with any<br />
tuition tax proposfl."<br />
In 1978, President Jimmy<br />
Carter's Atlcrnev General Griffin<br />
83II (citing pro^nis Suprenc<br />
Court decisions) concluded that<br />
the tultfcn tax credit bill proposed<br />
by Senators Moynihan and<br />
Packwood was unconstitutional.<br />
"Not onJy would ibe credits<br />
benefit Hi itutlons whose rule Is to<br />
rmphastxe religious training and<br />
beliefs." wreti Bell, "but Ihey<br />
would also benefit sectarian<br />
KhooU In significantly tarter<br />
schools."<br />
About 90 percent of all private<br />
schools are associated with chur*<br />
chrs. raatf with the Catholic<br />
church.<br />
<strong>The</strong> First Amendment pro*<br />
• hiblls the government from Involving<br />
itself In church education,"<br />
stated Hollings.<br />
Tiw Supreme Court has not yet<br />
addressed the issue, but it did ccn*<br />
firm the decision of a lowei co*irt.<br />
In Draw* r. Sute of Missouri.<br />
pannU of several private xhool<br />
students sought to have declared<br />
unconstitutional a provision of tht<br />
Missouri Constitution prohibitisft<br />
state aid to non-public schools.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir caw was that it **as in<br />
violation of the "free exercise"<br />
clause of the First Amendment.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lower court stated, "A<br />
parent's right to choose a religious<br />
privi't Khool for his children mar<br />
not be equated with a right lo in*<br />
sat that the stele is compelled to<br />
finance his child's non-public<br />
lcbocl education In whole or in<br />
part In order that he may obtain a<br />
religious educatioi. ."<br />
II the tuition tax credit plans<br />
wen passed and enacted into law,<br />
there would be many questions<br />
about what would happen, including<br />
"Where do we get the<br />
money? From the public schools?"<br />
"Public education Is the<br />
keystone of our democratic<br />
government." said HoUIngs. "and<br />
it Is the duty of all wdit*M.uaU...to<br />
support It.<br />
Thi* tuition-credit nropotal<br />
would instead materially contribute<br />
to the final demise of<br />
public education by starting us off<br />
on a taogen of financing private<br />
schools." hs claimed •<br />
PING YUEN DRUG STORE<br />
FHARMACY . fOOD<br />
Ph*rm*ey P#i-t<br />
433-1357<br />
Fobd'Dept<br />
962-1613<br />
Calvin Chow<br />
Alice Twt<br />
Kam Wong<br />
Pro: Proposal cushions tuition costs<br />
By I row ishlnar*<br />
Tuition tax credits could Improve<br />
the standards cf elementary<br />
and secondary schools as well as<br />
provide reUet to mkMle Income<br />
families struggling to meet fitful<br />
tuition costs.<br />
A tuition tat credit would make<br />
a private school education more<br />
cqultahle with publtc school<br />
education. Individual* would be<br />
free to choose for themselves and<br />
their children the type o! edu *•<br />
Uon that t*wy desire at the tchoou<br />
and colleges they select without<br />
baring to preoccupy tbemiclvet<br />
with serious monetary concerns.<br />
Merc children *ould be encoonjtcd<br />
to atteo*l private schools which<br />
would In turn offset the over<br />
crowded <strong>class</strong>rooms that occur In<br />
rub Ik schools. Public school<br />
<strong>class</strong>room sixes would decrease as<br />
a result of tower public school<br />
enrollment.<br />
Smaller <strong>class</strong>room sizes in<br />
public school would Improve<br />
teaching effectiveness. Private<br />
schools wuuld be able to succeed,<br />
and public schoo'% would be able<br />
10 stabilize their rising costs.<br />
Although the middle <strong>class</strong><br />
would benefit much from the tuition<br />
tax credit. It it not the only<br />
grcup that will.<br />
Some rataoriiy groups w^uld<br />
also benefit from tuition tax<br />
credits, lax credits would allow<br />
mlnorily groups to place their<br />
children In private schoob U tUy<br />
so desire wlthou. havinc »° wdgb<br />
monetary cuncerov so biavtly.<br />
Tax crcdiu would only be<br />
granted to those studentt who attend<br />
• nondlKriubutory school<br />
which bad been ccrtlfUd as such<br />
by the Internal Revenue Servk*,<br />
therefore guarding against<br />
iette«ated private schools.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Is- ue of tuition tax credits b<br />
not the first in federal «*uc* tnjo to<br />
involve the Intcnuliinal Revtflue<br />
Code of the Committee oo llnarce<br />
because publtc schools have for a<br />
long time received federal Jld an*<br />
tax breaks from the government.<br />
<strong>The</strong> federU government's first<br />
responsibility Is to the public<br />
tchools, but It also has a respon-<br />
Ability to taxpayers who send<br />
children to privitv schooU.<br />
"To deny flaanclal aid...and<br />
thereby make It more difficult for<br />
Cww to obtain the education they<br />
seek for their families is to submit<br />
to paternalism and to station."<br />
stated Senator Daniel P.<br />
Moynihin, regarding private<br />
education.<br />
Although elementary and lecon*<br />
go<br />
to colkge and university students<br />
and their famUies.<br />
Tuition tax credits would allow<br />
Individuals and famllks to retain a<br />
tittle more of 1 ei Income at a<br />
time *Iten ttr are -nost pressed<br />
for sno*M7 f> . college -osts. <strong>The</strong><br />
tuliloa tav credit propotaT would<br />
Insure (hat every dollar of basic<br />
grant or supplementary grant aid •<br />
student receives It actually nib*<br />
traded from the tax credit for<br />
which he would olherwbe be eligible,<br />
Any supplementary funds a<br />
studeoj receive* reduces the rto-<br />
>tit'i eligibility.<br />
Fur those with vcty low Incomes,<br />
ttw grant programs are more<br />
useful thftn tax credits, but for<br />
millions not eligible for grant aid.<br />
the lax credit wouid be helpful.<br />
"It has been charged that<br />
students and families will not retain<br />
the benefit of the tax credits,<br />
the theory apparently being that<br />
colleges and universities will boost<br />
their tultloa charges so as to 'capture*<br />
Ibe additional resources."<br />
said Moynlhan. "This, however. Is<br />
not true. Schools that try to exploit<br />
tuition tax cixdlts by boosting<br />
their tuition will find It difficult to<br />
attract students to their Institution."<br />
With rising tuition cuts, it is<br />
becoming room aaJ more difficult<br />
to circumvent monetary problems.<br />
A tuition tax credit would provide<br />
additional government approved<br />
relief to those who formerly would<br />
not qualify for sutn.<br />
Nelder questions flouridej<br />
By Cart* Ncwtneycr<br />
5upcrvi«or Wendy Ndder h*«<br />
rrcentl* raited a qumlon about<br />
the hca..hfulncwj of San Franciwo's<br />
fluoridated water.<br />
She said ihcre were tiudle* ihxi<br />
showed fluoride in the water<br />
to»erctl one's immunity to AIDS<br />
and other dlieawv Other claim*<br />
at thai fluoride is linked to<br />
cancer, birth defects, kidney<br />
dysfunction, and other maladies.<br />
Ncldcr has Ilitte support from<br />
her fellow board members on her<br />
antl-fluoriditlon stand. Mayor<br />
Diamie Fclnstrin oppot;* Nclr'cr's<br />
view.<br />
Most cspcrts find no evidence to<br />
support the links Nelder claims ex*<br />
1st. <strong>The</strong>re are a few who say.<br />
however, that fluoride I* lunnlul<br />
to om health.<br />
"From 1952<br />
until now,<br />
flouridation was<br />
never questioned<br />
Yet according to Jacob Hinder<br />
In <strong>The</strong> Complete Guide to Dental<br />
Health, "In over 3S years of<br />
testing, no damage ha* been<br />
discovered or proven irientlfcally.<br />
despite accusations..."<br />
Fluoride w»i out Into San Fran*<br />
Cisco's water supply following<br />
voter approval ol a policy on ttre<br />
November 1952 ballot. "Fron:<br />
1452 until now, It (fluoridatlon)<br />
*•* never questioned." tald Jim<br />
Chi.o of the Water Quality DM-<br />
•ion of the Water Department.<br />
In pait year*, people hate had<br />
1*0 compliant* about water: iu<br />
tattc and the presence of<br />
chemicals Tther than fluoride.<br />
Fluoride's claim lo fame U it*<br />
ability to drastically reduce the<br />
number ol cavities in humans,<br />
cipccUUy children. <strong>The</strong> Center for<br />
Disease Control estimates<br />
fluoridated water can reduce dental<br />
caries by SO to 65 percent. Jane<br />
Brody. Ne* Yoik TUnri health<br />
column!*!, calls fluoridated, water<br />
•he "...single, most Important<br />
measure In preventing tooth<br />
decay."<br />
Brody also cites fluoride's power<br />
to help stop bone lots by comb in<br />
ing with bone calcium.<br />
<strong>The</strong> battle wages on. While<br />
every major organization In the<br />
United Stales endorird fluoride<br />
(at .7 to 1.3 pars per million) In<br />
Maker, couclr.es including<br />
Sweden. Norwa;, u-d West Germany<br />
hate banned water fluarida-<br />
"Fluoride in the water is<br />
targeted to the pre-binh popuU-<br />
Uoa (that Is. pregnant women}.<br />
Once you're born, drinking<br />
fluoridated water (doesn't help).<br />
To reach such a until xgmec* of<br />
the population while endangering<br />
everyone el**** rs not fair, said<br />
PnytlbCanlorofNeldefWilcc. .<br />
WHITE SWAN<br />
WOMEN'S VTAR<br />
Some alto fee) that fluoridated<br />
water Is compulsory medication<br />
viola nal<br />
trccoom.<br />
In excess, fluoride may cause<br />
mottling of loolh enamel.<br />
Avcordlng to Chiao. "Removing<br />
(lie fluoride would lave money, but<br />
I don't think that Is what she<br />
CNctder) Is after."<br />
Nelder h planning hearing* for<br />
December; one will be for the<br />
Board of Supervisors and the other<br />
for the Environmental Protection<br />
Agenct.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Health Department has<br />
received no complaints about<br />
fluoridated water.<br />
Family Dti.*U*<br />
Y. CLEMENT SHDC<br />
D.D.S., INC<br />
34OO C<br />
wnioi<br />
Wi PRANCtSCO. CAUr. Mtlt<br />
567-240*