Letters to the Editor | March 14, 2023

As the director of a nature center, I read the March 10 article on our earliest spring in 40 years with interest — and great alarm. It’s not just arboreta and backyard gardens that are impacted. Here at the Schuylkill Center, red maple trees are blooming way too early, and turtles were basking in February’s sun.

Spring was once an elegantly choreographed parade of extraordinary events that evolved over millennia. Today, climate change is busily rearranging spring’s orchestration — with a wildly unknown impact on the diversity of life that share our natural areas.

We need to act fast, or spring — among so many other things — will be permanently broken.

Mike Weilbacher, executive director, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia, mike@schuylkillcenter.org

The Inquirer Editorial Board is right that the next mayor needs “A real plan to fix schools” (March 12). Included should be a real plan to restore school libraries and librarians. Research shows that students who attend schools with certified school librarians score significantly better on reading tests. While there were 176 librarians in Philly schools in 1991, there is now only one librarian for 217 district-operated schools. Out of a budget of $3.9 billion, zero dollars are allocated for library materials or librarians. Given that two out of three children in Philadelphia cannot read on grade level by fourth grade, this lack of investment in libraries is an enormous missed opportunity. School libraries with certified librarians are an evidence-based practice that improves reading scores. The next Philly mayor needs to do everything possible to restore school libraries and librarians to Philadelphia schools. To do so would change thousands of kids’ lives, and leave a lasting legacy.

Marc Meola, Philadelphia

The failure of the Silicon Valley Bank is a troubling sign of instability in our financial system, where money makes money and higher returns are relentlessly pursued. Where, in all the angst this failure is generating, is the talk about real alternatives? Consider the public Bank of North Dakota, which was founded over a hundred years ago and has been quietly supporting the state’s economic well-being ever since, holding state monies and supporting the most robust network of community banks in the nation. With none of its money in Wall Street, North Dakota came through the 2008 banking crisis unscathed. Surely there’s something for cities and states across the nation to learn from this model of public banking.

Stanley Shapiro, vice-chair, Philly Neighborhood Networks, shapsj@comcast.net

May I suggest a different approach to the education funding discussion being reported? Start with the best student outcomes in each of the categories, and examine the criteria that have resulted in the performance. Appoint a business executive to review the results and report to the governor. Be sure to consider the questions being asked by the parents. We have spent billions of dollars over the last 50 years, and the performance scores are equal to or worse than where we started. No business could survive such a record. Stop spending more dollars until a report with these criteria has been evaluated.

George Mitchell, Audubon

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