Fix public schools
Re: “Should tax money pay for private-school vouchers?” [Opinion, Feb. 7]: One thing the election of Donald Trump has done is make us brush up on our civics lessons. Public education was not put into place just to keep kids out of parents’ way on weekdays; it is an essential part of our political process. When our country was founded, the idea of “the people” making decisions as to who would govern them was a radical idea. It was understood that people would need to be literate and able to reason well in order to take their places as citizens of a democracy. Additionally, an educated workforce would make for a more prosperous country. Those goals of public education remain as valid today as then.
Public schools are laboring against mountains of obstacles to fulfill their civic duties. They need a lot more support, not less.
— Marge England, Garden Grove
Works for colleges
For many years, billions of dollars of government money has been used at private universities through various programs. Since it is widely acknowledged that the U.S. has the finest university system in the world, one could argue that the competition between public and private colleges and universities has been very positive for higher education. I don’t see why the same thing wouldn’t be true with primary and secondary education, with a voucher system which can be used at the school of one’s choice, whether public or private.
— Jeff Thomas, San Clemente
Free market for education
This is a very simple answer. America is a country that has thrived and dominated in the world because of capitalism. It is based on competition that brings ingenuity to improve, invent and provide a lower cost, higher quality new product. With the information age exploding there are more ways to provide a better quality and more fulfilling teaching environment and public schools will be in the back of the pack when it comes developing and trying these methods.
Competition in the schooling of our children will only cause institutions to seek better and more effective techniques. Competition for money has been the most powerful driver of this in our country. So if parents think another school will provide the best for their children they will want to have the ability to do that — the voucher system will be the vehicle to help provide that.
— Greg Nay, Irvine
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