Baptistnews.com reported this important piece of information. Private schools have scored billions from the Paycheck Protection Program. This represents a massive transfer of public funding to private and religious schools. Of course, this fulfills a major policy goal of the Trump administration.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State reviewed federal records and calculated that private schools collected billions of dollars from the Paycheck Protection Program, which was enacted to save small businesses at risk of going bankrupt.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has long considered public funding for religious schools, which comprise 67% of all American private schools, to be both bad policy and contrary to Constitutional intent. Americans United’s analysis of the data released by the Small Business Administration on PPP loans of $150,000 or greater reveals that Congress has already given private religious and secular schools funding totaling between $2.67 billion and $6.47 billion. PPP funding comes in the form of forgivable loans, which were intended to provide financial assistance to small businesses and nonprofits to recover from the pandemic. As long as the private schools meet certain criteria, like using the loan for payroll and operational expenses, the loans will be forgiven by the government in their entirety, essentially turning the loans into grants.
I call these private schools, which took billions … ROBBERS!
Robbery is going on right under our noses.
Hi Diane.
See an article from today’s Times of Trenton on just this topic.
Tom Smith Hightstown, NJ
https://timesoftrenton-nj.newsmemory.com/?publink=38caad74b
On Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 12:01 PM Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: ” Baptistnews.com reported this important piece of > information. Private schools have scored billions from the Paycheck > Protection Program. This represents a massive transfer of public funding to > private and religious schools. Of course, this fulfills a ma” >
Yikes. Any cuts to public school funding should be unacceptable in this context.
A long history of legal opinions, beginning with Bush’s Faith-based initiatives and ending with a reference to the Espinoza case, is being used to explain why loans and grants to religious institutions have been granted. The long term project of removing barriers between church and state has made these subsidies possible. See the legal reasoning here. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10445
Thought you, as an Ohioan, might be interested-
A report from the Democratic candidate for the 12th district summarized the Ohio situation. Over the past 240+ years, Ohio’s 12th district (north and east of Columbus) has been represented by 8 men named John and, not one woman. The past 37 years it has been under Republican control.
So, these greedy, private schools use PPP loans to pay their employees and bank the money that was the usual source used to meet payrolls. Then these greedy, crooked, lying private schools report to the lying, crooked Trump administration that the PPP loan was used for payroll and the private school is forgiven. Next, the CEO and/or owners give themselves a massive pay raise from the increased profits.
Yeah, that sounds about right. Already one guy bought himself a Lamborghini . . . We are aiming to be one big Honduras one day.
One very big Honduras where violent, dangerous gangs like MS 13 rules the streets where the working-class lives.
The only people Trump will sick his fascist attack dogs that wear unmarked unformed on are the Americans that care enough about their Constitutional rights they they take advantage of the 1st Amdnedmnt to peacefully protest when they think what Trump is doing is wrong.
And, while Trump’s thugs are beating and teargassing those law-abiding citizens, the street gangs will be breaking into retail stores several blocks away and stealing lots of merchandise.
Next, Trump will blame the peaceful protestors for what the street gangs did.
They prioritized bailing out private schools ahead of public schools.
Once again public school students were neglected and ignored by the ed reform echo chamber that dominates in DC.
Our kids have lousy advocates. They don’t deliver anything of value to students who attend public schools.
Nothing will change while ed reformers dominate policy – they simply don’t value our schools or students.
We need a clean sweep- new people.
I don’t have a problem with private schools getting PPP loans, but if those private schools are getting any voucher funds they are double dipping and I have a huge problem with that. Religious schools should absolutely not receive any PPP. They’re already completely tax exempt because there is supposed to be a separation of church and state.
Some of the wealthiest private schools in the nation got PPP millions. I have a problem with that.
Oh. Yes, that’s terrible. Need versus greed.
The more things don’t change, the more they remain the same…
19th Century L. Spooner:
“Whether the constitution really be one thing or another, this much is certain.
That it either authorized such a government as we have, or has been powerless
(or unwilling) to prevent it…”
These schools received full tuition for each enrolled student at the beginning of the school year. I am sure they did not refund tuition when schools were closed in March and remote leaning began. These PPP funds were designed to prevent layoffs. Private schools had funding for their teachers from the tuition they collected in September. What happened to the PPP grants thy received? How were these funds used?
Businesses generate revenue.
Non-profits don’t generate taxable income and they shouldn’t have received PPP funds. The fact that they double dipped increases their fraud against the American people.
The charter lobby inserted aid for nonprofits into PPP legislation.
Grifters enabled by a corrupt government.
Yes, Trump and his administration encourage the crooked cockroaches to come running from the shadows where they used to hide. Many of them think Trump might pardon them if they are caught.
I do not think we can trust anyone or anything anymore unless we have known them or it for a very long time.