Leandro opponents are the ones ‘failing’ NC kids, and it’s hurting my school district

Leandro funding

My children’s school district (Johnston County Public Schools) would benefit greatly from the full funding and implementation of the Leandro plan. It would mean over $110 million in additional funds by fiscal year 2028 for the district.

There would be dramatic increases in state allotments for children with disabilities, disadvantaged students, and those with limited English proficiency. These are all areas where JCPS has profound needs for more funds.

Incredibly, some politicians in Raleigh have denounced the Leandro plan, saying more funds shouldn’t go to “a failed education bureaucracy.”

I don’t think the teacher who has dedicated their life to education and spends hundreds out of pocket each year on classroom supplies is part of a “failed education bureaucracy.” I don’t think the principal in a low-wealth school who’s trying like heck to raise achievement levels for all students is part of a “failed education bureaucracy.”

The state has the surplus to fund the Leandro plan. It is our state leaders who need to stop failing.

Rick Mercier, Clayton

Gun access

The N&O’s Dec. 17 editorial correctly identified ease of youth access to guns as a principal issue in today’s school violence.

Our community seems to have a casual lack of concern for shootings that occur between and among our children, who do not possess adult decision-making skills The solution to ease of gun access often begins in the home. Gun safety plays a major role and holding parents accountable for gun access is a good starting point.

The Durham County Health Department instituted a gun safety initiative back in 1999 that served as a model for our state. The Durham Sheriff’s Office and Durham Police Department participated enthusiastically in the program.

Maybe our communities would benefit from a review of this program as a requirement for students and parents for successful completion of middle or high school.

We can bemoan this issue or we can take action. Let’s use what already exists in our communities, find what works in other states, and let parents know they will be held accountable.

Brian Letourneau, Durham

Vaccines, air travel

The Star Tribune’s reprinted editorial (Dec. 19 Opinion) was on target when it said: “Requiring vaccination for all air travelers into and within the (US) would help get delta under better control and put a brake on serious omicron infections.”

Yet when asked about a possible vaccine requirement for domestic air travel, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki recently said: “Nothing is off the table,” indicating there are other considerations.

We cannot haggle politically, but must act now while omicron and delta still loom large and are causing widespread deaths in the U.S.

The biggest danger is having these variants mutate into other forms, which could become more deadly and impossible to control with current vaccines. Waiting is not an option.

Norman Singer, Cary

COVID costs

I have to wonder what the cost is for those who are unvaccinated and those hospitalized because of their choice not to get the vaccine. How is North Carolina paying these medical costs? I worry, too, that our health insurance rates will go up and whether our state will move money from some other important expenditure to cover these costs.

Janice Woychik, Chapel Hill

Sen. Manchin

Sen. Joe Manchin insists on sabotaging the Build Back Better program sponsored by the White House and congressional Democrats. He seems determined to object to any reasonable funding level and carefully avoids any references to specific program initiatives. His constituents are among those most in need of the types of assistance being proposed. What exactly is his agenda that allows him to reject meaningful help for his people? He owes West Virginia voters a clear explanation which he’s apparently unable or unwilling to give.

Dean Prestemon, Cary

Voting rights

Republicans thought a filibuster “carve-out” allowing a simple majority vote on Senate approval of U.S. Supreme Court nominees was OK, but not for voting rights?

Unsurprisingly, no Republican senators want to ensure that all Americans have easy access to cast ballots in elections. They, and several red states, want fewer Black people and poor people voting.

There may even be one or two Democrats who value the filibuster’s protection of Senate minority opinions above the protection of voting rights. How can that, or federal and Supreme Court nominee approvals, be more important than decisions about voting laws, which after all are central to our democracy?

Either get rid of the filibuster altogether or do the carve-out on voting rights legislation. Only the U.S. Senate can stop this Republican attack on our democracy by passing federal voting rights legislation.

Gary Parker, Archdale

Ligon House

The article “Ligon House bought, preservation planned in Southeast Raleigh” (Dec. 23) made my heart feel so full during this season of gifting.

Thanks to buyer Ashkan Hosseini for his generosity to Raleigh, and especially to the African-American community for this thoughtful present to preserve this special piece of history.

Martha Glass, Cary