Don’t understand state’s problem

As recent transplants to your beautiful state from Colorado (which is very charter-school-friendly), I have been struggling to understand why Washington is having such a difficult time getting charter schools on line. Before we moved, I sent my elementary-age children to a charter school for three years, and it was really hard to leave our school. True, it wasn’t perfect. Funding was such that our school received fewer dollars per student than the other public school down the street. The teachers were well aware of this fact, but chose to teach at the school because they wanted to. And because all the administrators and teachers wanted to be there for the kids, the atmosphere at the school was very close and inviting. Every teacher my kids had (I had three kids in different grades) was stellar. It was the perfect environment for my children.

As a newcomer here, I admit I don’t fully understand why the courts feel a need to overrule what the people have voted, or why their “interpretation” of the law seems to involve changing the law. I also don’t understand the payroll envy apparent by the Seattle teachers union, which appears to be striking simply because teachers aren’t paid on the same level as tech workers. It is sad to see the teaching emphasis drift from serving the children to keeping up with the Joneses.

Anna Dinsmoor

Lake Stevens