A debate over public funds for private schools, by Jessica Gibbs.

Greg Vigil, chairman of the board at Arma Dei Academy in Highlands Ranch, is brimming with excitement about the Douglas County commissioners’ plans to spend millions of dollars on security measures and mental health programming in local schools.

The commissioners’ plans include a $10 million, one-time offering for physical security and mental health programming in schools, plus an ongoing $3 million — if matched by county schools — that will help fund school resource officers in the county.

He’s grateful, he said, that the financial offer was made to all school types, including private and faith-based schools like his, which served 210 students in kindergarten through eighth grade last school year.

“All taxpayers in Douglas County are essentially funding that account,” Vigil said. “Whether their kids go to private school or public school, at least their children are represented in the spending of those funds.”

Not everyone thinks the same way. Continue reading here.