Letters: Get private companies out of public schools

Meeting Street Academy was founded by a for-profit company and has entered a partnership with schools in Charleston and Spartanburg to govern selected schools still funded by taxpayer support. While a few hundred kids benefit from these schools, thousands do not. Moreover, the arrangement leads to decision-making without public input.

The State Board of Education and all school districts need to end any further charters or public-private arrangements and implement what we all know works: longer school terms and days, better-paid teachers, two teachers in each room and governance through a publicly elected school improvement council.

Private capital should assist with this but not in exchange for the right to govern schools. Existing private partnerships and charters also need to be changed to address major civil rights issues and constitutional violations of the law, such as those addressed in Abbeville v. South Carolina.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Letters: Get private companies out of public schools."