While school districts chase hundred-million-dollar bonds and navigate bureaucratic sports-access rules, the VFW is putting $1.6 million in scholarships directly into students' hands through contests that teach American civic values — no administrative overhead required.
The contrast tells you where real educational value lives. In La Salle, Illinois, VFW Post 4668 just launched its annual Voice of Democracy audio-essay contest and Patriotic Art competitions, offering high schoolers a shot at a $35,000 national scholarship paid directly to their American university, college, or vocational school. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Idaho, the school district is weighing a levy that could top $100 million for building relocation, and in Ohio, a new law lets students cross district lines to play sports their own schools don't offer — but only if two superintendents sign off first.
The VFW's Voice of Democracy program is straightforward: students in grades 9-12 record an audio essay on a patriotic theme and compete for their share of more than $1.6 million in educational scholarships and incentives. The national first-place winner receives that $35,000 scholarship. Applications are due to VFW Post 4668 by midnight, Oct. 31. The Auxiliary also runs two art contests — one for two-dimensional work, one for three-dimensional — both due by March 31, 2027. No committees, no diversity consultants, no层层审批. Just students demonstrating what they believe about their country.
Now look at what the institutional side is serving up. In Moscow, Idaho, Superintendent Shawn Tiegs told the school board Wednesday that the district needs to relocate Moscow High School into the existing middle school building, then find a new spot for the middle school — plus build a career technical education center, a performing arts center, a new elementary school, and renovate an old elementary for an alternative high school. Tiegs acknowledged a single bond covering everything would be too expensive. "I'm not going to stand here as a superintendent and say we need to run a $158 million bond and we need to get all this stuff done. Ultimately for me that is just not digestible in this community nor any community. The price tag is too high," the Lewiston Morning Tribune reported. He recommended a levy instead, noting a bond would require two-thirds voter approval and hasn't passed for any Idaho school district in recent memory. The district expects enrollment growth from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories adding jobs — so taxpayers are being asked to fund building projects for students who haven't arrived yet.
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law July 7 letting public high school athletes play at neighboring schools if their school doesn't offer a sport. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported the Ohio High School Athletics Association, whose members repeatedly rejected this option, issued guidance July 16 on how it works. The catch: both the home district superintendent and the receiving district superintendent must approve. If either says no, the student is locked out. Students also can't transfer just to seek a higher competition level like varsity. The Ohio association fought this expansion for years — institutional gatekeepers keeping families boxed in.
Three stories, one pattern. The VFW offers students a direct path to earn real money by engaging with American principles. The schools offer taxpayers debt and families bureaucratic permission slips. The VFW doesn't ask Moscow residents to fund a $100 million bond or Ohio parents to beg a superintendent for a signature. It asks students to think, speak, and create — and rewards them for it.
When was the last time a school district handed a student $35,000 with no strings attached?
