Say ‘no’ to this school choice bill. Use tax dollars to strengthen public schools.

School choice

Op-ed writer Cynthia Allen reports high levels of support for the Education Freedom Scholarship and Opportunity Act now before Congress. (March 18) This bill redirects billions of taxpayer dollars to fund what is essentially a school voucher program.

It provides a dollar for dollar tax credit to individuals or institutions that contribute to scholarship-granting organizations. There is no academic or financial accountability for the scholarship-receiving organization. The bill explicitly forbids “any Federal control over any aspect of any private, religious, or home education provider.”

Schools that receive scholarships can reject students for many reasons — e.g. academic ability, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity. They can teach religion, deny science, and falsify history.

The pandemic has revealed problems in our public schools. We should use taxpayer dollars to strengthen these schools, which are available to all children — not divert them to schools that discriminate.

Helen Wolfson, Durham

UNC

Regarding “A harmful political ideology is posing a threat at UNC,” (March 20 Opinion):

Contributing columnist Pat Ryan is a former spokesperson for N.C. Senate Leader Phil Berger. Berger and other Republican leaders have purged the UNC Board of Trustees and UNC System governors of almost all Democrats and many moderate Republicans.

They’ve canceled faculty think tanks at multiple institutions, discontinued UNC related organizational board memberships for faculty who were critical of their policies, interfered with hiring chancellors at several institutions, and vetoed tenure for a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

For these reasons, faculty morale suffers and there are challenges with the ability to recruit and retain the best teachers and researchers.

Don’t be fooled by Ryan’s arguments. It is the Republican leadership and their pundits who are trying to enforce their own orthodoxy on Carolina, the University System, and our state.

David Kiel, Chapel Hill

Child tax credit

We see the reports of the horrors in Ukraine and send money. Here at home we look the other way as children living on the edge of poverty are thrown over by a government that chose to end Child Tax Credit payments.

Census data shows more families have struggled to meet basic needs, including food and rent, since CTC payments ended in December. We know that direct payments work and that families in need spend the money on necessities. Yet, we punish the poor and call it a handout when they get a tax credit.

When corporations and wealthy individuals take advantage of loopholes, are afforded tax breaks, and move money offshore we call it good business.

It’s time for our country to value its future as good business — and its future is the children.

Lillian Mindich, Chapel Hill

2 NC Republicans

Regarding “Are they the future of the NC GOP?” (March 20):

I was glad to see Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson express gratitude for “a charitable government that would step into the gap” to help him when he was a child. It’s unfortunate that he has decided to spend his time demonizing so many instead of working to find ways to responsibly assist those who need the help his family once did.

Those tempted to vote for Madison Cawthorn should not overlook the fact that his despicable comments about President Zelensky being a “thug” and “evil” are currently being used by Putin as propaganda against Ukraine and its allies, including the U.S.

So yes, if the GOP is on board with ostracizing the LGBTQ community and non-Christians, and giving support to Putin’s war against Ukraine, then Robinson and Cawthorn are worthy options.

Mark Slattery, Raleigh

March madness?

I unrolled my Sunday N&O and there they were on the front page: Large red-and-white quotes from Mark Robinson and Madison Cawthorn. Up in the corner, another headline: March Madness. That headline could have been merged with the political story. Now that voters have had two years to get to know those two guys, it will be interesting to see if they can ever get elected again. It’s clear what they stand against. What do they stand for?

Bob Williams, Fuquay-Varina

This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Say ‘no’ to this school choice bill. Use tax dollars to strengthen public schools.."