Hillsdale College is starting a Charter School, and while there is no mention of this in the press release, Charter Schools rely on government money. That’s what makes them different from regular private schools. Here is a 1989 explanation by George Roche of the long struggle of this college against ever accepting government money.
Source link: http://blog.mises.org/11059/end-of-an-era-for-hillsdale/
End of an Era for Hillsdale?
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I’d encourage you to reread the article you link to. First, it’s an article in their college newspaper (not a press release) and second, the article does mention the school will be funded by the government.
“The public education system will supply most of the funding for the school. A college donor, the Barney Family Foundation, has already contributed the entirety of Hillsdale’s contribution, Bobb said. That money may supplement the headmaster’s salary, aid teachers’ education through the expansion of the Center for Teacher Excellence and help fund the annual Classical School Fair held at the college.”
Spreading the ideas of liberty and the free market to more kids sounds like a good idea to me. And they aren’t exactly rushing into either — 2 years until they’ll accept students if they find the right state and group of parents. I wish Dr. Calvert well.
Also of note is that Hillsdale didn’t fight against accepting federal funding, they fought against the oversight and intrusion that came with the federal funding. When the Supreme Court ruled that Hillsdale couldn’t accept federal money without accepting the strings, they decided to not accept federal money.
It’s true that charter schools receive taxpayer funding, but as long as the school is chartered as not-for-profit (as opposed to a for-profit school, which are allowed in some states), I don’t see how Hillsdale itself would be receiving public funds.
That being said, I would like to hear the administration explain precisely what precautions they are taking to preserve the college’s independence and ensure that the arrangement does not violate the college’s strict requirements in this area, but I think it’s premature to jump to conclusions based on what’s been said in the Collegian.
Personally, I am more concerned about Hillsdale College pulling tricks on the talk radio circuit. Three years ago, I would get an approving nod when I mentioned attending Hillsdale. Now, everyone I meet makes assumptions about my political beliefs and associates the college with politics rather than academics.
Ever since Hillsdale rejected federal funding, the college has had to work hard to court donors, which has often led the college to show more loyalty to Republican ideologues than to the ideas themselves. But Hillsdale really has reached a new low by seeking the endorsements of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and advertising on their programs. It is whorish and embarrassing for Hillsdale College to grovel before demagogues in an attempt to expand its Imprimis subscriber base.
The talk radio world is a tempting source of new donation money, but this does not come without a sacrifice to the college’s reputation for academics and liberal arts.
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