“Parents, student aid agencies seeking answers…” blared the Union Leader on its front page today, featuring the financial pain inflicted on parents:

The decision means Litchfield mother Kim Nichols won’t be eligible for a scholarship to help pay for her son to attend a Catholic school in Nashua.

Nichols, who pays more than $12,000 in yearly tuition to Bishop Guertin High School, said she was “furious” with the judge’s decision.

The scholarship organization NEO says it has over 1,000 more such applicants.  The only surprise is why there aren’t more.  The program is meant for public school students, but few have applied.  So NEO has been working with religious schools since the law passed a year ago, recruiting parents to apply for the state tuition subsidy.  As a result, applications are primarily for kids who are already in religious schools.

Maybe the Union Leader will now do a front page story on how Manchester’s Bakersville Elementary School is successfully reaching hundreds of low income kids today…