DeVos confirmed
Betsy DeVos was confirmed yesterday after a media smear campaign. She wants to change the education climate and maybe make the system work better for our children. But with Congress split, why weren’t people hearing the positives about this woman in the media? There must be a reason that she was selected and that would start with the education of our children.
As an employee of LAUSD, I have seen the colossal failure of a bloated bureaucracy and tax dollars wasted while the students are poorly educated. And I have seen the outstanding performance of charter schools and alternative schools. I will be interested to see the change in school districts that have been failing students for far too long.
— Barry Levy, Hawthorne
School choice
Re: “Should tax money pay for private-school vouchers?” [Opinion, Feb. 7]: You are asking the wrong question. The first question to ask is: “Who is in a better position to decide the best way to educate their children, the parents or the government?” Everyone understands that it is the parents.
The second question is: “What is the purpose of our educational system, to educate our children (What a concept!), or to support below-average teachers?” (Guess what we are doing today.) School choice will bring competition back into education. Competition provides us with high-quality and reasonably priced cellphones, computers and automobiles. It will do the same thing with education — and in fact is doing just that.
— James P. Gray, Newport Beach
Public is public
Public schools should be wholly supported by public funds. After all, 90 percent of students attend public schools. These taxpayer-funded schools must take all students, including those with special educational needs. In spite of Betsy DeVos’ woeful ignorance of school law and federal mandates, all of our nation’s K-12 students are entitled to a “free and appropriate” eduction according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Redirecting funding from public schools to private or charter schools undermines the solvency of the public system while eroding this precious pillar of our democracy. If parents choose an option other than the public school, that is a legitimate choice. But don’t ask our taxes to support that choice.
— Ben Miles, Huntington Beach
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