Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell

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