Tom Curtis to Peter Bronson re: Competition Makes A Better Mouse Trap

From Tom Curtis, May 26, 2007
Subject: 052607 Curtis To Bronson, Re Competition Makes A Better Mouse Trap

Mr. Bronson,

After reading your article, it is very apparent that you know little about the past and present operation and spending of public schools, how programs are funded and the rules and regulations public schools must operate within. However, in your defense, unless you have been an educator and experienced first hand how our public schools operate, you could not possibly understand what problems public schools deal with on a daily basis.

Private, charter and magnet schools do not and most have not operated under the same rules as do public schools. So I ask you, where is the comparison? Many charter/magnet schools have not accounted for the money they received from the state, and have failed to provide test results of the students' knowledge gained. Why? You are making an uneducated and unfair comparison in your article.

Further, the reason that charter/magnet schools are so abundant is due to the out of control pay to play system those in our state legislature have set up over the past 16 years.

I will ask you to take a good look at those in the legislature that are the strongest supporters of charter/magnet schools and you will find that those legislators are the ones most often supporting the pay to play system. All they are concerned about is how much they will receive towards campaign donations in return for their support. This type of pandering should be dealt with and eliminated, but our legal system has become a pay to play system as well.

There is hope, though. Our last election eliminated many of those greedy legislators and I am hopeful the next election will eliminate the rest of them. The legislature providing state monies to charter/magnet school programs without providing for the oversight of those funds is irresponsible and crass on their part. Because of such, large sums of money provided to charter/magnet schools have been squandered or out right stolen by those in charge. Is this a good system, I don't think so, despite how you seem to misrepresent it in your article.

Thomas Curtis
Retired Ohio Teacher