Mon County does not need charter schools
In response to Mrs. Treu’s letter to the editor (DP-11-15-20): I attended the charter school meeting with the Monongalia County Board of Education. I was employed in the school system for
37 years as a teacher and administrator.
I do not believe the Treus were completely open with the full intention of the school. I question how they could come to their conclusions after only living here a short four or five years. Besides, they admitted their children have been homeschooled during a portion of this time. They must have had reservations from the beginning. Have either of them done observations in schools or made suggestions to someone working in the system?
She indicated there were others who shared her opinion. This was not indicated by the attendance at the meeting, because it did not appear many supported her agenda. One lady who helped start a charter school in another state asked the board to not approve a charter school based on her experience. Statistics show 50% of charter schools close in five years.
Monongalia County Schools, if not at the top, is one of the best programs in the state. Schools, teachers and students have been recognized state- and nationwide.
It was unprofessional for Mrs. Treu to say, regarding the Monongalia County schools, it is the monopoly of local schools that are afraid to have a charter school. I thought the charter school was supposed to be on the same team. This alone should put doubts in the community as to what the real motives are.
Mrs. Treu expressed her feelings suggesting competition. Is that supposed to make things better and for whom? Have they taken time to help the present system be better? This is a red flag. Again, I say they have hidden motives. They have not been open about how it would take away financially from our school system. The school system must make difficult decisions for the best of the majority. I urge the community and the Board of Education to deny this charter school.
Bob Solly
Morgantown
Electoral College gives small states more power
In his letter to the editor (DP-11-15-20), Mr. Skidmore argues that the Electoral College is needed to protect small states. He does not state from what or whom small states need to be protected. He claims that abolishing the Electoral College would reduce the incentive to vote in small states but shows no concern that a system skewed against them might discourage voters in the most populous states. Let’s take a closer look at how much the federal system favors the smaller states.
The 25 most populous U.S. states have a population of over 276 million, or almost 84% of the U.S. total (not counting non-state U.S. territories). In the Senate, the 25 states representing 16% of the U.S. population have 50% of the votes, the same as the states representing the other 84%. This strikes me as very strong protection. There is one senator per 19.5 million Californians and one per 289,380 people in Wyoming.
Apparently, Mr. Skidmore is not satisfied with this protection of small states, even though its strength is demonstrated by the current Republican majority in the Senate, a majority that represents several million fewer citizens than the Democrat minority. He also wants to maintain the Electoral College, where the 16% living in the 25 smallest states have almost 23% of the electoral votes.
I can understand his view, but it does not exactly represent a commitment to democratic rules, only the desire to hold on to an unearned advantage, no matter what.
Peter Schaeffer
Morgantown
Extreme party bases disrupt good governance
I read Goldberg’s article (DP-11-14-20) with great interest, because I think Sen. Joe Manchin will help center-left Democrats and center-right Republicans move more to the forefront of the United States Senate.
The extremes (so-called “party bases”), both right and left, are obstructions to good governance . . . they are the tails wagging the dogs in U.S. two-party politics and illustrate the Founders’ concern for factions and political parties in the formation of a republic.
I hope this will be an administration of healing relationships as well as strongly held viewpoints and get us further along the path to unity, strength and an effective public sector. To quote Goldberg: “This is how it’s supposed to work. The two-party system functions best when both parties try to compete for voters not pander to their bases.”
Bill Wyant
Morgantown
Smooth transition needed to save lives
It doesn’t take a genius to know that President Trump’s approach to a smooth transition with our new president is only going to hurt America; certainly not him, as he still has many adoring fans who will accept just about anything he says or does, regardless of the consequences.
Denying a smooth transition between the two administrations will surely cause confusion and perhaps danger to America, but such confusion and delay becomes most apparent in the planned distribution of the new vaccine(s) to fight the coronavirus. What is so stupid on Trump’s part is that it may well invalidate the sole coronavirus accomplishment of his administration — Operation Warp Speed — in what otherwise has been a series of horrible and deadly COVID mistakes on his part.
The expeditious distribution of the vaccine must not only overcome the usual obstacles, but it must satisfy daunting requirement of storage below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Expeditious and equitable distribution of the vaccine in a time of transition clearly requires the close integration of what has already been planned by the current administration with plans of the incoming team. Without that, there will be unnecessary delay and loss of life.
If Trump persists in his “it’s all about poor me” attitude in defeat and if the majority of Republican officials fail to assert the will of the majority to get on with the transition, then it will be the American public who will suffer and many more Americans will die. This debacle has gone on long enough; get on with it!
Bob Shumaker
Morgantown
No Electoral College means no Donald Trump
I agree with the editorial that stresses the Electoral College should be abolished (DP-11-06-20).
Had it been rid of for the previous presidential election, we quite possibly would have avoided the havoc and chaos these past four years, perhaps with better health care, less coronavirus fatality, more humane DACA and immigration and not be facing such uncertainty of possible Supreme Court rulings over our rights, freedoms and, today, an Executive Office seeking to undermine our voting rights.
This election would have already been declared for Joe Biden/Kamala Harris knowing the popular vote already surpassed any of the past. However, many who voted will be ignored since it is not popular vote calculated overall.
The unfortunate thing for Americans is the past Electoral College chose Trump (despite the popular vote). The partisan vote siding with Trump during his impeachment left us with no choice but to wait till a presidential election to remove him, when the Senate knew full well it should have done it itself.
Everyone’s vote should count and not be “middleman” altered by an originally racially discriminating Electoral College. Anyone advocating white supremacy/religious/ethnic discrimination should not be permitted to campaign or to hold office in this diversified society of we, the American people.
Why we elect the U.S. president via an Electoral College while all other Congressional offices are elected by popular vote is an enigma of bias. The popular vote should be the standard for all elections.
This is not Russia or North Korea. I am an American. Count my vote!
The Electoral College disqualifies our vote as equal. It should be abolished and replaced with the popular vote, where every vote counts!
Delmar Hagedorn Jr.
Morgantown
