When there is less money, programs have to be cut. That’s how it works. And one of the programs cut was public preK.

Your point is that in Trenton’s budget they didn’t find it a high enough priority to continue something but your statement didn’t say that to begin with.

No, that was not my point, because Trenton did not cut the preK program. The Montclair Board of Ed cut the preK program because the school budget for the town of Montclair was cut by the state of NJ. Something had to be cut because the school district’s funding from the state had been reduced, and the town chose to cut the preK program.

Do you understand now?

I’d say he was banned because of his racism. But the kind Sister should speak to that. He was a leftist racist who spoke racism almost every post.

Kathy asked an irrelevant question, “The above is factual. Do you live in New Jersey, baklava?”

No. My grandparents do. But it doesn’t matter. My point remains that New Jersey has not in the last 6 decades reduced the amount of spending for education. Your point is that in Trenton’s budget they didn’t find it a high enough priority to continue something but your statement didn’t say that to begin with.

Again. You said, ““because the Montclair Board of Ed eliminated the public preK program in the late 1990s because of school budget cuts.””

So my question was … What school budget cuts? You mean priority changes now but didn’t say that earlier. It’s a lie that’s perpectuated halfway around the world before truth can get it’s boots on. YOu did it in another thread about a week ago and I asked you to tell me WHEN and what were the dollar amounts (you FAILED to do so) to back up your claims about cuts in poverty programs, health services, social services, veterans benefits, education. In the last 6 decades they have all been increased every year and your accusations were UNTRUE and you have FAILED to reconcile what you have said with the black and white truth.

Shifting the story doesn’t do that for me. Neither does asking an irrelevant question.

Yeah. I did not have sex with that woman either. Depends on what the meaning of is is. We’ve heard it all before Kathy, from people a lot better at it than you, and it still reeks. Newspeak all over again.

Yeah, why should parents have to spend time with their kids when they’re small, better to shove them off on the state to baby sit. We wouldn’t want to inconvenience the parents when we can soak the taxpayers and start indoctrinating the little tykes early. Wonder if there’s a kiddie popup book of Marx’s Manifesto?

I said that traditions serve functional purposes; and that a tradition is not good just because it’s a tradition.

I did not at any point say or imply the statement that severian attributed to me.

The state of New Jersey gives each school district a certain budget to work with. Within that budget, the local districts have to make decisions about which programs they can keep and which they must cut. Trenton cut Montclair’s school budget over a number of years, not just one year. The local board of ed had been saying it was going to eliminate the public preK in response to these cuts for a number of years, but parents always saved it by showing up at board of ed meetings and speaking up in behalf of the program. But finally even that was not enough to save the program, and it was eliminated. There is a town preK program still, but it is not part of the public schools anymore, and parents have to pay tuition to put their children there (on a sliding scale based on income).

The above is factual. Do you live in New Jersey, baklava?

You started the “functional purpose” bushwa. Just us the find on this page function of your browser.

I just love it when you have to show liberals their own just denied words and expressed thoughts.

Traditional education worked, all of your touchy feely socialist liberal approaches don’t. You are against tradtional, objective standard based education. Ergo, you must find that the “functional purpose” of educating the young to be ethical, competent, and well educated isn’t something you want done. Typical liberal response, liberal socialists view the purpose of education is to create docile, ignorant sheep who will do what their betters tell them and help bring about the destruction of the US way of life, all the while enjoying the perks of that same way of life.

Disgusting Kathy, absolutely disgusting.

Not just Southern whites Kathy. Depending on the year and state, slave ownership was between 5 and 10 percent of whites who owned slaves. For free blacks, that percentage was 28%. Kind of the same thing we see mirrored today with black on black crime isn’t it? Some traditions die hard.

You really are ignorant of history and the South. Did you know, for example, that slavery was not declared illegal in all states after the end of the War Between the States…it lasted until 1868 in Delaware. So much for the Emancipation Proclamation, which only freed slaves in the South.

You liberals have established a strong tradition of support for every failed policy possible, you don’t seem to be that eager to address that particular tradition. Guess your “functional purpose” really is to destroy this country and everyone in it in favor of whatever socialist wet dream you have this week.

C’mon Kathy, break with tradtion, the Neocon’s are waiting for you, and we have cookies!

No, I never made that statement, nor did I imply it. I can’t begin to understand how you inferred it from what I have said here.

Who is Steve, and why was he banned?

No, the school to which you refer is not “set up and run by Montessori, a private entity,” nor is it “set up and run by NEA union teachers and administrators.” Neither one of these accurate describes the public school in Montclair, NJ, called Edgemont School — nor does your language accurately describe what any public school is.

There’s something wrong with your understanding of plain English, PCD.

That is, hands down, the stupidist statment I’ve seen since steve was banned.

I guess, your view, the “functional purpose” of actually educating our children to be self reliant, well educated, capable, and competent is a “functional purpose” that should be opposed.

Man, and I thought you had said some inane things before! I’m just stunned.

I bow down before you Kathy, you’ve even got steve beat with that one.