Well, it was certainly a memorable occasion! Imagine... ME talking with Lt. Governor Bolling... Wow... I really have to thank Norman for the invite to join the teleconference.
Just... wow!
All right, now that I've got a few of the stars out of my eyes, I suppose I ought to explain to y'all what I'm talking about.
Last week, Norman (of One Man's Trash fame) e-mailed me asking if I'd like to join in a teleconference with Virginia's Lt. Governor, Bill Bolling. I was a tad hesitant at first, thinking it would be a pretty heavy-duty political analysis session. I'm really much more of a "life-blogger," even when I do talk politics or current affairs, and I thought I might be in over my head. But Norman said I could listen in and participate as much or as little as I wanted, so I said what-the-heck.
Tonight, many members of the Old Dominion Blog Alliance spoke with Mr. Bolling from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Mr. Bolling was well spoken and enthusiastic, and gave each question a careful and well-considered answer. It was a pleasure speaking with him, and I hope I will have the opportunity sometime to shake his hand and thank him again for his time and graciousness.
Each of us participating in the teleconference had the opportunity to ask a question, and I inquired what Mr. Bolling's stance was on the general subject of school vouchers and tax relief for families choosing to send their children to private school.
The Lt. Governor was quite responsive and firm in his support for what he called "meaningful educational choice." Although we certainly have educational freedom in Virginia - we have a wide range of choice, from public to private to home schooling - he is interested in promoting "meaningful" choice, where the residents of this state have more actual power to exercise those choices.
Mr. Bolling mentioned that school vouchers and educational tax credits were a couple of means to accomplishing this, but added that the issue has had problems getting past the State Senate Finance Committee. Also, Governor Mark Warner never made it a priority issue, and Mr. Bolling doesn't foresee Governor Tim Kaine changing that position.
Some opponants to vouchers and tax credits might say that they could never work and would harm funding to public schools. However, Lt. Gov. Bolling reminded us that, first of all, competition is good for many areas of our society. Monopolies can strangle by offering an inferior product at an inflated price, but when companies - or schools - compete, they must offer a good product at a reasonable price, or they die. Competition in the school system, he said, would strengthen the school system and encourage a better education.
He also pointed out that this has already been done in Virginia in higher education with no ill effects.
Established in 1972, the Tuition Assistance Grant Program (VTAG) is designed to assist Virginia residents who attend accredited private, non-profit colleges and universities in Virginia for other than religious training or theological education. The VTAG is authorized in Chapter 4.1 Section 23-38.11 through 18 of the Code of Virginia as the Tuition Assistance Grant Act.
The Tuition Assistance Grant Program offers annual grants of up to $2,500.00, and Mr. Bolling said that these grants were supposed to be increased to about $3,300.00 per year. (As an aside, I see that "religious training or theological education" are not permitted fields of study for these grants, which seems discriminatory to me) Mr. Bolling pointed out that this program is quite successful, allowing our state colleges and universities to thrive, while giving many private colleges the opportunity to grow and increase in number.
But, for these educational programs to be realized, we need to have a Governor, Senate, and House of Delegates who will back them and push them through the bureaucratic and partisan obstacles.
All in all, it was a very profitable and interesting question and answer session, and Lt. Governor Bolling expressed a desire to see if we could set this up as a quarterly event.
Thanks, Mr. Bolling, I enjoyed myself and learned a lot!
Also blogging: Spank That Donkey, Norman at One Man's Trash, Elephant Ears, Singleton at NoVATownHall, Virtual Conservative, Too Conservative, Kilo (who was unable to join, but Norman gave the Lt. Gov. Kilo's question), the Jefferson Mammoth, From On High, Bacon's Rebellion
Great Question!
I am glad you were in on the call. I had a train to load and got home late. I think it is VERY COOL that they are giving bloggers these calls.
Posted by: Kilo | April 11, 2006 at 12:04 AM
The real Jay Katzen would be glad to see that there are still those pushing the cause of school vouchers.
Posted by: Not Jay Katzen | April 11, 2006 at 12:42 PM
I remember hearing at some point that the school vouchers won't fly in VA due to something in our State Constitution that would prohibit it. There is nothing that would prohibit school choice.
Excellent report BTW.
Posted by: f mcdonald | April 11, 2006 at 11:00 PM