teaching. Wasn’t Mill on to somethingrnwhen he said: “A general state educationrnis a mere contrivance for molding peoplernto be exactly like one another. . . . It establishesrna despotism over the mind”?rnSo if monopoly of public funding andrndenial of choice and consent sum uprnAmerica’s public school impasse, whatrnshould we do?rnOne short-term answer is just to throwrnmore money at the whole school problem.rnIn 1999, congressional Republicans,rnstung by President Clinton’s initiativerncalling for 100,000 new teachers andrnsmaller classes, sought a $40 billion increasernin federal education spendingrnover the next five years. Said Sen. KayrnBailev Hutchison of Texas, fresh from arnRepublican caucus: “We want to get intornhelping the states.” Helping the states —rnor helping the students? Or, more likely,rnhelping the GOP politically? In anyrnevent, is more money really the answer?rnAccording to an American LegislativernExchange Council study in 1998 onrnschooling costs, state by state, New Jerseyrnled the nation in the 1996-97 school year,rnspending an average of $10,975 per student.rnYet it ranked 39th among states inrnaverage SAT scores in 1998. Washington,rnD.C., had the nation’s second-highestrnper student expenses ($10,384), and itrnranked 50th in average SAT scores.rnAt the same time, Minnesota spentrnmuch less, averaging $6,345 per student,rnbut ranked third in average SAT scores.rnIowa did better yet, spending an averagernof $6,056 per student, and coming in firstrnon SAT scores.rnA Cato Institute study put average tuitionrnfor all K-12 private schools, exceptrnparochial, in the 1994-95 school year atrn$3,II6-less than half of the $6,857 costrnper pupil in the average public school.rnYet private schools score higher SATrnscores — granted, with smaller, more selectedrnstudent bodies, including thosernwith inner-city schoolchildren. Evenrnwith that caveat, however, any positiverncorrelation between public school spendingrnand public school results is weak tornnonexistent.rnAbetter—ifstill short-term—answer tornAmerica’s school problem would be privaternscholarships such as those establishedrnbv Wall Street financier Theodorern]. Forstmann and John Walton of thernWal-Mart family. In 1998-99, thernForstmann-Walton team raised $170rnmillion for a scholarship fund. Forstmannrnsaid a flood of 1.2 million applicationsrn—that’s almost one for every 50rnAmerican schoolchildren —was “a cryrnfrom the heart” for access to the scantrn40,000 computer-allocated scholarshiprnslots at private and parochial schools. Hernnoted that, even though the means-testedrnapplicants’ families had low incomes,rnthey were still willing to pass up “free”rnpublic education and pay up to $1,000 arnyear.rnBut such scholarships, though welcome,rnare limited tools to promote widespreadrnconsent, renew traditional values,rnand encourage parent-student-teacherrncooperation and enthusiasm.rnThe only true solution is far more radical.rnSince the central problems of publiernschooling are due to its negation ofrnmuch parental and student choicernthrough compulsory attendance laws andrnthe monopoly of public funding withoutrn(by and large) taxpayer consent, we mustrnbreak that compulsion and monopoly.rnFor if separation of church and staternmakes sense — and I believe it does —rnthen why not face the challenge of separationrnof school and state?rnLudwig von Mises said it v.ell in hisrn1929 book Liberalism:rnThe school is a political prize ofrnthe highest importance. It cannotrnbe deprived of its political characterrnas long as it remains a public andrncompulsory institution. There is,rnin fact, onlv one solution: the state,rnthe laws, must not in any way concernrnthemselves with schooling orrneducation. Public funds must notrnbe used for such purposes. Thernrearing and instruction of youthrnmust be left entirely to parents andrnto private associations and institutions.rnWilliam H. Peterson is an adjunct scholarrnat the Heritage Foundation and thernDistinguished Lundy Emeritus Professorrnof Business Philosophy at CampbellrnUniversity in North Carolina.rnWhen in Rockford,rnEat atrnLee’s Chinese Restaurantrn3443 N. Main StreetrnWhat is the best keptrnsecret in publicrnpolicy?rnThe media doesn’t want to discuss it.rnYou won’t hear about it on the 6:00rnnews. Most political candidatesrndeliberately avoid the issue. Therntaboo topic is mass immigration.rnThe President and Congress havernabandoned our immigration traditionrnto support the greatest wave ofrnimmigration in the history of the world.rnUnless immediately checked, massrnimmigration will triple U.S.rnpopulation in the lifetimes of yourrnchildren and grandchildren!rnAverage NumberrnImmigrants Yearlyrn1,600,000rn1,400,000rn1,200,000rn•£ 1,000,000rn2rnTO 800,000rnE 600,000rn400,000rn200,000rn0rnSource: INSrn1830-rn1990rn1990-rn1999rnThe big losers are wage earnersrn(wages have been depressed forrnalmost 30 years), taxpayers (cost tornlocal communities for each immigrantrnranges from $13,000 to $23,000rnannually), and future generations ofrnAmericans (who wants to live in citiesrnas densely populated as Tokyo, HongrnKong or Mexico City?)rnIt’s up to you! Get the facts! Do it forrnyour children, grandchildren and allrnfuture Amehcans.rnFor a free information pacl