{"id":4043,"date":"2022-10-14T09:29:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T13:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/?p=4043"},"modified":"2023-10-22T09:43:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T13:43:49","slug":"the-demise-of-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"The demise of public schools"},"content":{"rendered":"The Maine Chapter Column on the demise of public schools Much has changed since I last wrote about the Supreme Court\u2019s decision that, in effect, all but forces Maine, and every state in the Union, to fund private religious education. Now it seems the ability of every state to fully fund its public school systems is under attack. Bleeding public school budgets to fund alternative schools, such as private secular, religious, or for-profit charter schools, is often done through a school voucher program. Vouchers operate on the assumption that public taxes do not fund public school systems. Politicians who support <a href=\"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/\" class=\"more-link\">(more&hellip;)<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Maine Chapter Column on the demise of public schools Much has changed since I last wrote about the Supreme Court\u2019s decision that, in effect, all but forces Maine, and every state in the Union, to fund private religious education. Now it seems the ability of every state to fully fund its public school systems [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-religion-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The demise of public schools - Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Maine Chapter - FFRF is a welcoming discussion group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and humanists who support the separation of church and state. We invite you to attend a Zoom meeting and meet new people, make friends, gain awareness of how freethinkers are marginalized, and support each other in their quest for freedom from religion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The demise of public schools - Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Maine Chapter - FFRF is a welcoming discussion group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and humanists who support the separation of church and state. We invite you to attend a Zoom meeting and meet new people, make friends, gain awareness of how freethinkers are marginalized, and support each other in their quest for freedom from religion.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MaineAtheistFreethinkerHumanistAssociation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Maine-Chapter-FFRF-110969048148686\/?ref=pages_you_manage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-14T13:29:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-22T13:43:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"645\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MaineAtheist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MaineAtheist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7078ae287fd1c98df7e530793453a5ef\"},\"headline\":\"The demise of public schools\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-14T13:29:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-22T13:43:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":803,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics &amp; Religion Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/\",\"name\":\"The demise of public schools - Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-14T13:29:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-22T13:43:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Maine Chapter - FFRF is a welcoming discussion group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and humanists who support the separation of church and state. We invite you to attend a Zoom meeting and meet new people, make friends, gain awareness of how freethinkers are marginalized, and support each other in their quest for freedom from religion.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg\",\"width\":645,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/the-demise-of-public-schools\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The demise of public schools\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/\",\"name\":\"Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation\",\"description\":\"An Activist Group of Atheist Freethinkers, Humanists, Liberals, and other Infidels\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"MAFHA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maine Atheist Freethinkers and Humanists Association\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/MAFHA-Slide-600x1440-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/MAFHA-Slide-600x1440-1.png\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Maine Atheist Freethinkers and Humanists Association\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MaineAtheistFreethinkerHumanistAssociation\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/MaineAtheist\",\"https:\\\/\\\/youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCspwJsnJLmlEoTI4-KD96Xg\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/maineatheist\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7078ae287fd1c98df7e530793453a5ef\",\"name\":\"Tom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a6807f2a7ad0cc009b92594161ef4f2f642ef67cc5faa364abeecae602a6f971?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a6807f2a7ad0cc009b92594161ef4f2f642ef67cc5faa364abeecae602a6f971?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a6807f2a7ad0cc009b92594161ef4f2f642ef67cc5faa364abeecae602a6f971?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tom\"},\"description\":\"Vice President - Maine Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/Maine-Chapter-FFRF-110969048148686\\\/?ref=pages_you_manage\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ffrfmaine.org\\\/home\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The demise of public schools - Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation","description":"The Maine Chapter - FFRF is a welcoming discussion group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and humanists who support the separation of church and state. We invite you to attend a Zoom meeting and meet new people, make friends, gain awareness of how freethinkers are marginalized, and support each other in their quest for freedom from religion.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The demise of public schools - Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation","og_description":"The Maine Chapter - FFRF is a welcoming discussion group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and humanists who support the separation of church and state. We invite you to attend a Zoom meeting and meet new people, make friends, gain awareness of how freethinkers are marginalized, and support each other in their quest for freedom from religion.","og_url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/","og_site_name":"Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MaineAtheistFreethinkerHumanistAssociation","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Maine-Chapter-FFRF-110969048148686\/?ref=pages_you_manage","article_published_time":"2022-10-14T13:29:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-10-22T13:43:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":645,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MaineAtheist","twitter_site":"@MaineAtheist","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/"},"author":{"name":"Tom","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/7078ae287fd1c98df7e530793453a5ef"},"headline":"The demise of public schools","datePublished":"2022-10-14T13:29:20+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-22T13:43:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/"},"wordCount":803,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg","articleSection":["Politics &amp; Religion Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/","url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/","name":"The demise of public schools - Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg","datePublished":"2022-10-14T13:29:20+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-22T13:43:49+00:00","description":"The Maine Chapter - FFRF is a welcoming discussion group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and humanists who support the separation of church and state. We invite you to attend a Zoom meeting and meet new people, make friends, gain awareness of how freethinkers are marginalized, and support each other in their quest for freedom from religion.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Death-of-Public-Schools.jpg","width":645,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/the-demise-of-public-schools\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The demise of public schools"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/","name":"Maine Chapter - Freedom From Religion Foundation","description":"An Activist Group of Atheist Freethinkers, Humanists, Liberals, and other Infidels","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#organization"},"alternateName":"MAFHA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#organization","name":"Maine Atheist Freethinkers and Humanists Association","url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MAFHA-Slide-600x1440-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MAFHA-Slide-600x1440-1.png","width":1440,"height":600,"caption":"Maine Atheist Freethinkers and Humanists Association"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MaineAtheistFreethinkerHumanistAssociation","https:\/\/x.com\/MaineAtheist","https:\/\/youtube.com\/channel\/UCspwJsnJLmlEoTI4-KD96Xg","https:\/\/instagram.com\/maineatheist"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/#\/schema\/person\/7078ae287fd1c98df7e530793453a5ef","name":"Tom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6807f2a7ad0cc009b92594161ef4f2f642ef67cc5faa364abeecae602a6f971?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6807f2a7ad0cc009b92594161ef4f2f642ef67cc5faa364abeecae602a6f971?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a6807f2a7ad0cc009b92594161ef4f2f642ef67cc5faa364abeecae602a6f971?s=96&r=g","caption":"Tom"},"description":"Vice President - Maine Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation","sameAs":["https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Maine-Chapter-FFRF-110969048148686\/?ref=pages_you_manage"],"url":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4044,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4043\/revisions\/4044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ffrfmaine.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}