--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we allow public funds to be used to…" description: "\"If we allow public funds to be used to support our relatively benign, morally grounded schools, we will have to allow those public funds to be used for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png" --- # If we allow public funds to be used to support our… ![“If we allow public funds to be used to support our relatively benign, morally grounded schools, we will have to allow those public funds to be used for any type of private school.” quote by Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png) > “If we allow public funds to be used to support our relatively benign, morally grounded schools, we will have to allow those public funds to be used for any type of private school.” [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that public funding for schools creates a slippery slope toward endorsing any private institution, raising equity concerns. **In simple terms:** Public money for schools may lead to funding any private school. Key Takeaway Consider equity when allocating public education funds. Themes education policy equity funding public vs private Mood analytical concerned thoughtful Type policy ethical When to use this quote - school board meetings - legislative hearings - budget planning - parent advocacy groups Key Concepts social justice economics law Questions to Reflect On - How can public funds support both public and private schools fairly? - What safeguards prevent misuse of education money? A Different Perspective May overlook benefits of diverse school choices for families. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benign/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Funds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funds/) [Grounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grounded/) [Grounded Schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grounded-schools-2031842/) [Private school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-school/) [Public Funds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-funds-966879/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Schools Allow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schools-allow-2031841/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [The not-self cannot have the bad, meaning they of the government and the judges and the schools cannot allow the bad because they cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-not-self-cannot-have-the-bad-meaning-they-of-the-government-and/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Compassion is the use of public funds to buy votes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/compassion-is-the-use-of-public-funds-to-buy-votes/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [At the most basic level, a central bank must be clear and open about its actions and operations, particularly when they involve the deployment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/at-the-most-basic-level-a-central-bank-must-be-clear-and-open-about/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [We don't know what proportion of public funds is regularly lost to collusion and corruption. 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Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-k-simpson/) > [Elected officials should be held to a higher standard, and we cannot enable misbehavior with a system that secretly settles with public funds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/elected-officials-should-be-held-to-a-higher-standard-and-we-cannot/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [When we appropriate money from the public funds to pay for vaccinating a horde of negroes, we do not do it because we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-appropriate-money-from-the-public-funds-to-pay-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If eviction has these massive consequences that we all pay for, a very smart use of public funds would be to invest in legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-eviction-has-these-massive-consequences-that-we-all-pay-for-a-very/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [It's important that public funds be spent in research directions that are pushing market frontiers rather than working in existing areas. This means funding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/it-s-important-that-public-funds-be-spent-in-research-directions-that/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) ## More by Jonathan Kozol > [Political struggle is the most important thing any of us can do as a citizen in a democracy; and that means the old joining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/political-struggle-is-the-most-important-thing-any-of-us-can-do-as-a/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [Separate and unequal didn't work 100 years ago. It will not work today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/separate-and-unequal-didn-t-work-100-years-ago-it-will-not-work-today/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [“Unless we have the wealth to pay for private education, we are compelled by law to go to public school—and to the public school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/unless-we-have-the-wealth-to-pay-for-private-education-we-are/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [At present, black children are more segregated in their public schools than at any time since 1968. In the inner-city schools I visit, minority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/at-present-black-children-are-more-segregated-in-their-public-schools/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [“I want to correct something I told you once,' she says. 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It denies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/no-child-left-behind-widens-the-gap-between-the-races-more-than-any/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [An awful lot of people come to college with this strange idea that there's no longer segregation in America's schools, that our schools are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/an-awful-lot-of-people-come-to-college-with-this-strange-idea-that/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [The answers I remember longest are the ones that answer questions that I didn't think of asking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-answers-i-remember-longest-are-the-ones-that-answer-questions/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) [Explore all 151 Jonathan Kozol quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) ## More Benign quotes > [The plausible outcomes range from the gradual and benign to the more precipitous and damaging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-geithner/the-plausible-outcomes-range-from-the-gradual-and-benign-to-the-more/) [Timothy Geithner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-geithner/) > [Whereas religions may serve a benign purpose by letting many people feel comfortable with the level of morality they themselves can attain, no religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/whereas-religions-may-serve-a-benign-purpose-by-letting-many-people/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Factory-farm lobbyists are so powerful and so well funded and they do everything in their power to hide the truth about farming. They keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/factory-farm-lobbyists-are-so-powerful-and-so-well-funded-and-they-do/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Fame is indeed beautiful and benign and gentle and satisfying, but happiness is something at once tender and brilliant beyond all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/fame-is-indeed-beautiful-and-benign-and-gentle-and-satisfying-but/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Cultural institutions by and large share one primary objective: herd control. Even when ostensibly benign, their propensity for manipulation, compartmentalization, standardization and suppression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/cultural-institutions-by-and-large-share-one-primary-objective-herd/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Acid wasn't getting a whole lot of bad press at the time, and as I saw the whole bad-press thing happen, I became aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-rettig/acid-wasn-t-getting-a-whole-lot-of-bad-press-at-the-time-and-as-i-saw/) [Tommy Rettig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-rettig/) > [Beneficent spirals, operating by benign feedback, mean that everything needful is not required at once: each individual improvement is beneficial for the whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/beneficent-spirals-operating-by-benign-feedback-mean-that-everything/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-looked-up-at-the-mass-of-signs-and-stars-in-the-night-sky-and-laid/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Orders can be benign or malign, but the habit of obeying them can become ingrained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/orders-can-be-benign-or-malign-but-the-habit-of-obeying-them-can/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [Intelligence may indeed be a benign influence creating isolated groups of philosopher-kings far apart in the heavens... On the other hand, intelligence may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/intelligence-may-indeed-be-a-benign-influence-creating-isolated/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Every major player is working on this technology of artificial intelligence. As of now, it's benign... but I would say that the day is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-bell/every-major-player-is-working-on-this-technology-of-artificial/) [Ted Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-bell/) > [Of course, I prefer organic farming to chemical-dependent farming, but sometimes absolutist organic prescriptions go too far. I don't even rule out the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/of-course-i-prefer-organic-farming-to-chemical-dependent-farming-but/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [How do you survive living in a cell knowing you are innocent? Many of those exonerated whom I have met seem to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/how-do-you-survive-living-in-a-cell-knowing-you-are-innocent-many-of/) [Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/) > [Human nature has its fatal weaknesses, but 'love' means embracing the whole of human nature, the bad within the good, the benign within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qiu-miaojin/human-nature-has-its-fatal-weaknesses-but-love-means-embracing-the/) [Qiu Miaojin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qiu-miaojin/) [Browse all 210 Benign quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benign/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we allow public funds to be used to support our relatively benign, morally grounded schools, we will have to allow those public funds to be used for any type of private school.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Kozol" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-support-our-relatively-benign/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benign" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-support-our-relatively-benign/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/jonathan-kozol-2747_benign_if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-s_2611544.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we allow public funds to be used to support our relatively benign, morally grounded schools, we will have…” — Jonathan Kozol", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jonathan Kozol", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we allow public funds to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-support-our-relatively-benign/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/if-we-allow-public-funds-to-be-used-to-support-our-relatively-benign/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```