Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush decided to attack actor Matt Damon on Twitter, after Damon said recently that he is sending his children to private school after moving to Los Angeles.
In a tweet, Bush wrote, “Matt Damon Refuses to Enroll Kids in Los Angeles Public Schools. Choice ok for Damon, why not everyone else?” He then included a link to a Brietbart.com story abotu how Damon had been an advocate for public schools and accusing the Elysium star of being a hypocrite.
Damon entered the conservative target after a Guardian interview, in which he said that he is sending his three daughters and his stepdauther to private LA schools.
“Sending our kids in my family to private school was a big, big, big deal. And it was a giant family discussion,” Damon explained. “But it was a circular conversation, really, because ultimately we don't have a choice. I mean, I pay for a private education and I'm trying to get the one that most matches the public education that I had, but that kind of progressive education no longer exists in the public system. It's unfair.”
Damon has been a longtime advocate against deciding teacher’s pay based on student test scores. “So we agitate about those things, and try to change them, and try to change the policy, but you know, it's a tough one,” he explained.
As The New York Daily News notes, Bush, who leads the Foundation for Florida's Future, is a big advocate for school choice and has also sent two of his children to private schools. In a statement to the Daily News, bush’s rep said that he wasn’t criticized Damon for sending his kids to private schools, but wanted to show that the actor “has criticized and opposed efforts by those who are working to make sure low-income parents have the same choice he had.”
The Washington Post was critical of Bush’s statements, noting that Damon has really been pushing for public education to get away from standardized test scores as a way to measure a student’s abilities.
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