Opinion: Exhibit A for why parents should trust traditional public schools more than charters

To the editor: The answer to the print headline question of whether the operator of Celerity Dyad Charter School shortchanged students is yes. (“Few school supplies but a lavish party: At charter school, teachers saw a clash between scarcity and extravagance,” Jan. 31)

When some fly-by-night educator with a little bit of experience decides to open a school and then throws lavish parties and lives it up on a presidential salary, that’s when you take a look around.

I taught in public schools for 37 years; the worst schools I taught in at least had a cafeteria, a gym and a library. And paper and pencils. And each public school had to toe the line on many laws to protect kids.

Why would you send your kids to a crummy place with no playground, and where you have no idea who’s teaching and how they got the job? And what would you think if those teachers could lose their job if they don’t kiss up to the principal?

The more charter schools open, the less money your local public school has. And the public schools have to take every kid. I trust a public school to adhere to the law. Who knows what some charter school will do?

Cheryl Clark, Long Beach

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