Letter to the Editor: Doomed to Fail?

By Door County Pulse, Peninsula Pulse – August 4th, 2023

Right to Read … really? Sounds good. A worthy goal. And so obvious how the GOP has a way of diverting from other sociological priorities that contribute to the problem and that they will never fund.

I suggest Right to Read is doomed to fail.

Here are the facts from a PBS NewsHour interview with Ms. K. Burk, leader of Mississippi’s literacy turn-around: A philanthropist donated $100 million to invest in preschool! Mississippi has, rounded, well over 400,000 school-age children, according to Ballotpedia. Wisconsin has, again rounded, more than double that. Yet the Wisconsin Republican Legislature has approved just half that amount ($50 million, taxpayer funded) for twice as many kids! And their budget neglects preschool (and daycare).

Contrary to the opinion of a certain Door County legislator, I know how to read, do research and do math. By the above numbers, Mississippi is spending roughly $250 per pupil, and Wisconsin only $62.50. And 67 “reading coaches” for the whole state of Wisconsin? That’s not even one per county. And what are their credentials?

This is going to be a miracle?

We would have been much better off if Ronald Reagan hadn’t cut funding for Title I back in the 1980s. The illiteracy produced by that decision created generations who still are not proficient, literacy being greatly enhanced by that one-to-one attention for those who need it.

Diane EvensonSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

that some public schools fail to acknowledge that differences in the status among students can be harmful?

Too Big(ger) to Fail?

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