Nope. No. No. No.

Screaming @TodayRadioRTE as 'rationale' for giving private schools more money to prepare for return is aired. Nope. @SarahAMcInerney playing a blinder, as per.

"Parents have the right to send their kids to whatever school they choose."

100%. But if you make that choice, you can't then return to the State for help, imo. Your school has chosen to spend your money ... if that didn't include a rainy day fund

We have just been hearing about how students in prefabs bring hot-water bottles to school; how others wear hats and scarves in winter etc.

That is mismanagement but it's not a choice for those kids.

And if that's happening in private schools, well then, more fool y'all.

The 'piles of cash' referred to in that IT alert... yeah, you don't have them because likely you have facilities (in the most part) that other schools would only die for.

And, again, if you don't - you're paying for something else (most likely academic results or connections)

And the argument that all kids are equal/all parents are taxpayers run pretty shallow given the idea of paying for your kids' schooling is to make them better placed/unequal.

So again, your choice etc.

Btw, I really understand parents sending kids to these schools btw - our local school was *in bits* (see hats/scarf stuff above) when I started so lots of not-massively-well-off families made that choice.

But there are other consequences to that decision.

And just for anyone coming to this story brand new... an important point re the Covid fund: https://twitter.com/notoriousbuge/status/1295301735670571008

Lots of people will talk about a 'spectrum' of fee-paying schools. As in they aren't all KHs or Clongowes....

But, tbh, there's only one spectrum that actually matters: It's either fee-paying or it's not.

We are now at the 'chip on my shoulder' part of the replies. lol.

There's obviously a lot of 'we don't pay *that* much' also; as well as the 'we make loads of sacrifices' crowd.

My fave so far is the 'fine, give us tax breaks then because we're paying for the State to educate the other kids then'.

Give the rest of us strength tbh

If you're keeping up ... we are now it the: "BUT THE KIDS ARE THE SAME" part of the argument.

So now it seems nobody is sure why fee-paying schools exist, including those defending them/going to them/sending their kids to them.