Commentaries

June 04, 2009

 Commentaries is where Minnesota Public Radio welcomes your thoughtful opinion about current events and issues. Commentaries are like letters to the editor. To be considered for publication, your commentary should be issue-related, clearly written, and follow our Terms of Use. New insights into ongoing topics are especially welcome. Not all commentaries received are published. For topical interaction with others, visit the discussion groups.

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Freeway ramp meters

Mr. Smith's comment fell roughly into the category of "a rube with common sense" and his main grievance seemed to be freeway ramp meters. [MPR Morning Edition: Commentator urges unallotment of ramp meters]

I'd be the first to agree the Department of Transportation has done a terrible job explaining these to the public, but one would hope that a tiny amount of common sense (or God forbid, research) would inform a person elevated enough to be heard on Minnesota Public Radio. Sadly, that was not the case.

Mr. Smith, the ramp meters don't exist to make your life miserable. They exist because (listen carefully) per unit of time and pavement on a road you can fit more cars if they are moving than if they are still. So the point of the ramp meters is not to give Tim Pawlenty an easy way to help close the budget gap by shutting them off, the point is to keep traffic flowing, and in so doing allow more cars on the freeways, a goal we all share, I believe.

Adam Shinbrot
Golden Valley, Minn.


Minnesota charter schools are a beacon of light

What a sensational way for Matt Entenza to gain the support of Education Minnesota for his upcoming campaign for governor! Education Minnesota has opposed charter schools as long as they've been in existence, and Mr. Entenza seems to use any possible venue to derail Minnesota's successful charter school program. [MPR News: Report: Most charter schools mismanage finances]

My question is...do our regular public schools get scrutinized as much as charter schools? When a charter school runs into debt, it's immediately closed. Our regular public schools can run millions of dollars into debt and expect their local levy to bail them out in order to continue operating. I haven't seen any report done on that failed system.

Here's something else to consider. Charter schools get the same amount of per pupil funding as their regular school counterparts. How is it that charter schools can put 15 students in a classroom and budget their expenses while their counterparts have 30 students in a classroom and are cutting teachers? I think Mr. Entenza should be looking at where the funds are being spent in our regular public schools and stop attacking the good things that are happening with charter schools.

Where's the rest of the story? After reading the report, I spoke with an administrator of a charter school. After the school's audit was complete and the findings listed, they made corrections and fixed the errors found in the audit. Most of the errors were simple corrections totally blown out of proportion by this report. The report focused on audits done in 2007. The investigators certainly had time to check back and see if the audit errors had been corrected. Why wasn't this information found in the report? Probably because it would, again, suggest that charter schools have successfully educated thousands of Minnesota students without the use of unionized teachers. Minnesota charter schools are a choice that offers a beacon of light to those who think education has failed them. Why do so many work so hard to try to put out that light?

Vera Weber
Hazel Run, Minn.


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