Work misrepresented
In a recent op-ed ("At our expense," April 28), Blake Rutherford cites research from the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics by Mavuto Kalulu to claim that "education outcomes in charter schools are currently worse than public schools in our state." Dr. Kalulu's research finds the exact opposite, as summarized in the publication "Arkansas Charter Schools: Myths and Facts."
ACRE's research shows that charter schools improve performance in nearby traditional public schools, both as measured by test scores and student behavior.
JEREMY HORPEDAHL
and MAVUTO KALULU
Conway
Jeremy Horpedahl is director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics. Mavuto Kalulu is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas.
Conway dysfunction
The Conway School District is drowning in undercurrents of a dysfunctional school board. A school board member, seeking re-election, recently ran a TV ad mentioning her "conservative values."
I hadn't previously heard the school board member's voice. We've "attended" a few board meetings via Internet. The actual venue is approximately a classroom size. The candidate with the ad never speaks into her mic, so who knows what she actually thinks?
As for public input, anyone wishing to address the board must submit name, content and be pre-approved to speak for no more than three minutes. A huge timer counts down the seconds.
To give you a sense of the dynamics, a high school student was called to the podium. Obviously nervous, the young speaker held forth. The difficult, well thought-out message asked nothing but a chance to be heard. The student's point was the board has made decisions that isolate and harm some students. Three minutes up. Presentation done. The student awaits questions. Comments? None.
Silence. The student at the podium. The meeting adjourns. The board turns its back. The student is visibly shaken.
When I think of the "conservative values" candidate, I see the distraught student who had risked humiliation.
BOB REYNOLDS
Conway
EVs on battlefield?
The latest absurdity coming from the Biden administration's Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm is support for the proposal that all military vehicles be electric by 2030. Not only is the timing impossible to achieve, but more importantly, the idea of electric vehicles in combat is laughable. It's mind-boggling; it's crazy! Are there going to be charging stations on every battlefield?
I really can't imagine the mindset of anyone thinking EV for the military is a good idea. The far left is so out of touch with reality that it is scary.
BONNIE HOLMES
Little Rock
On slaughter culture
It seems to me there is a reasonable solution to the "slaughter culture" we are experiencing in America. Unless I'm way off base, the insurance industry holds the key. It certainly has the funding to buy off the politicians and even Justice Thomas and the rest of his ilk. It could easily get legislation passed to require that all firearms be licensed and insured. That will solve the issue of the people with gun fetishes buying hundreds of guns unless they can afford the liability insurance. This would no doubt deter hundreds of thousands of guns being nonchalantly added to their collections for their toddlers and using guns for raffles at church. Make it make sense! And this way the crooks in office won't feel the pain in their pocketbooks.
That being said, I am a gun owner and would use one if I felt that I would die if I didn't. That doesn't mean I would shoot a delivery person or someone who is lost and trying to get directions. Girl Scouts would survive knocking on my door.
I was married to an avid gun collector for several years and watched his interest turn into compulsion and separate him from reality. Years after our divorce he became unable to function and took his own life with one of his guns.
I have family members who own lots of guns, and they are very responsible. I have a favorite cousin who gives me venison every year. All this does not mean that we should ignore the fact that we don't have proper gun laws in place to protect everyone's freedom to live in a country with reasonable protections against being slaughtered in church, school, parades, fairs, clubs, knocking on a door needing assistance, or not liking the way someone is driving.
I'm surprised that some responsible gun-owning Americans haven't formed a new organization for us that practices safety and responsibility with firearms. The NRA is no longer doing what it said it would do. It's only about its bottom line now. And unfortunately we keep sending people to D.C. whose apparent sole purpose is to take bribes and become wealthy.
My hope lies in those young people who are reaching voting age.
JAN TITSWORTH
Mena