Letters: Focus on education, not buildings

It seems that Richland 2, Lexington 1 and some other districts have made it their goal to out Taj Mahal each other in school construction with the likes of Jackson Creek Elementary and River Bluff High. Glass walls, fireplaces, fancy food courts and waterfalls do nothing to provide our kids with a quality education. Focusing on the educational basics — reading, writing and math — is what will improve our educational rank.

I am appalled that education decision makers in this state have failed for so many years to improve this.

The rich districts are getting richer, and the poor districts are getting poorer. We need equity. We need to attract high-quality teachers to the poorer districts and pay them well. All teachers dedicated to instilling in the kids the educational basics should be well-compensated. Taxpayers in richer districts should oppose funding that is applied to building the next great buildings rather than educational basics.

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Letters: Focus on education, not buildings."