The Two Faces of Hillsdale

Hillsdale has conflicted ideas about money--specifically money that has been handled by the government.

Oh, no. I just couldn't

Hillsdale College, Michigan's favorite right wing christianist private college, sends out regular e-mail messages from its president, Larry "Teachers Are The Dumbest" Arnn, and I'm no that list. 

In his latest missive, Arnn underlines one of the colleges signature features-- they don't accept federal money in any way, shape or form, including aid to students. They have their reasons.

The kind of education offered at Hillsdale College is rare in America today. There are several reasons for this. Let me mention two important ones.

One reason is that, since the 1960s, radical Leftists have come to dominate many American colleges and universities. They reject the classical liberal arts curriculum and instead seek to promote a progressive ideology.

Another reason is the massive amount of taxpayer funding of colleges and universities—funding that comes with regulatory strings attached.

By contrast, ever since direct federal taxpayer funding first became available to colleges and universities in the 1950s, Hillsdale has refused to accept such funds.

Over the years, our Board of Trustees has pledged several times to resist any attempts by the government to regulate its internal affairs. Hillsdale was almost alone in seeing the dangers posed by federal funding.

So, there will be no money following the student onto Hillsdale's campus. (Instead, they need supporters to open their checkbook to help provide their own student aid.)

When it comes to K-12 charter schools, Hillsdale has different feelings about accepting taxpayer money that has passed through government hands. 

Okay, maybe I will.

For just one example, their intent to put five charter schools in Tennessee could involve them siphoning something like $35 million in taxpayer dollars from the state (with dreams of ten times that). 

I'm not aware of any instance where a Hillsdale charter was proposed or opened with the caveat "we will not accept any taxpayer funding." And really, if that were the goal, it would be much easier to set up private schools that operated outside of the public school funding system (and refuse, of course, to accept any taxpayer dollars packaged as vouchers). Hillsdale does a tiny bit of that (but not the voucher refusal part).

Of course, some "Hillsdale charters" are owned and operated by other folks who are just using the Hillsdale materials for their school. And it's entirely possible that Hillsdale has greater trust is state-level government to keep its mitts off theirs school; a reasonable assumption, given that many states have enshrined a mitts-off clause in voucher laws. 

Still, it's hard to see how exactly the creation of schools that depend on taxpayer dollars for their very existence squares with Arnn's promise to "remain a beacon of genuine independence." Because Hillsdale's charter schools are not particularly independent at all.