Fredericksburg Area Republicans

Comment

Comment by Colette Moran on February 1, 2009 at 4:42pm

Here's a letter I sent to state Del. Cole (feel free to copy any part of it) and then you can email it to him at DelMCole@house.virginia.gov :

Del. Cole --

Hello, my name is Colette Moran, and I live in Stafford Lakes Village. I am glad to be represented by a man of your values.

In the Wash Post on Friday, I noticed two blurbs about issues I support, and I was wondering how you stand.

The first is the funding of tuition-assistance grants to students with autism. It seems to make sense to offer $20k grants to each of the 7000 students currently in the public school system at a cost of $32k per child. If I did my math right, that would save $84M -- maybe less if more kids who are currently in private schools apply for assistance, but some kids may choose to stay in public schools, so I imagine that there would still be substantial savings, in the millions.

But of course the VA Ed Assoc and the VA School Bds Assoc. opposed it -- arguing it took away money. What it takes away is their power to control how our kids are educated. I do not have an autistic child, nor does anyone close to me, but a parent knows better than anyone what's best for their children. Families in this situation should be given this choice.

The bill has been indefinitely tabled by the Senate committee -- I hope you will put your support behind the pending bill in the House

And then, with all the millions saved, one of the programs that can have its funding reinstated in the 2010 budget is Alicia's Law. Real strides have been made in the fight against on-line predators with new technology. As the mom of 7 children, you can imagine my concern about the threat these very dangerous individuals present to my children's well-being.

I hope you will join Sen. Deeds in supporting the funding for this important program.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to corresponding with you in the future,

Colette Moran