Dear Editor:

It is quite common to hear complaints about the state’s lack in honoring the people-state agreement to cover 55 percent of public education costs for the past decade. Recently, there was a petition announced to end under funding of Maine’s public schools.

What is strange is the lack of complaints about the millions of reduction in our state education budget between the years 2008 to 2013 – $468 on a per-pupil basis. I have also not heard a peep against insisting that private for profit schools be called “public education” even though the virtual schools receive $2,000 more per student than the traditional public schools. Worse – the state agrees to pay the $2,000 plus price for at least six months even when the student returns to a traditional public school. “For profit” wins and traditional schools lose.

Time, attention, and money are spent beyond rational justification for charter schools – yet traditional schools continue to be de-valued, as reflected in lack of the same amount of time, attention, and funding. While our acknowledgment of these disparities is muted, Moody’s Investors Service recently knocked Maine for inadequate spending on K-12 public education. The loss of funding does not stop at K-12, but aggressively includes higher education.

When charter schools expand their physical plant, who owns the building paid by us? Why are tax dollars shifting from non-profit public institutions to “for profit” institutions? Virtual schools are not successful, and there is no evidence students in other charter schools do any better than non-profit public schools? Who is watching education tax dollars?

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb