Letters to the Editor | April 22, 2024

An April 16 letter to the editor mistakenly calls tax credit scholarships awarded through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement and Opportunity Scholarship programs “vouchers.” Vouchers allow parents to use all or part of the public funding set aside for their child’s education for private school tuition. Tax credit scholarships, however, are funded through a separate allocation, and in Pennsylvania, are awarded through more than 200 approved nonprofit scholarship programs.

Donors and nonprofit organizations do not “make millions” through these scholarships, as the letter writer alleges. Donors provide gifts to scholarship organizations and receive a tax credit of up to 90% of their gift, so there is a net charitable donation with no return for the donor. Nonprofit scholarship organizations can retain a limited administrative fee from the donation to cover the expenses of running the program. The result is that tens of thousands of Pennsylvania students attend schools their parents choose for them — the same privilege wealthy families can make for their children without any external question or judgment. I am proud that Pennsylvania offers several types of school choice for families, and we need to retain the funding mechanisms that enable all families to access those options equitably.

Keisha Jordan, Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia

Decades of stingy budgeting by GOP state legislators have led to starved school systems that serve the most vulnerable. Those proposing that charter and private schools represent the salvation of public schools, as do adherents to the Commonwealth Foundation’s tenets, are selling a myth.

Many charter schools and all private schools are selective. It is a fact that their student populations do not mirror those of public schools, which have a seat for all who come through their doors. How many student populations of charter and private schools reflect the full range of students that public schools do on a regular basis, including those with mental, physical, or behavioral challenges? The Commonwealth Foundation touts free markets and small government, but these students — and the concomitant expense they represent — are rarely welcomed by the market. Do we, as a society, just abandon them? Contrary to small government ideology, only through sizable infusions of government funds can these kids be educated properly. The lives of the neediest are just as worthwhile as other children’s and should not be valued in dollars. The answer to providing good educational opportunities for every student is to fully invest in public schools, which can present pathways to thrive for all, regardless of their circumstances.

Beverly Hahn, Lansdale

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the death of Philadelphia’s Bert Bell. The man who not only laid the successful groundwork for the current NFL but who had a dream he would not compromise on.

It would have been easy for the University of Pennsylvania football star to continue the legacy of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. Guy Chamberlain’s team had been NFL champions in 1926, but Frankford had seen its stadium damaged twice by fire and ravaged by the Great Depression. Acquiring the team rights in 1933, Bell ensured that the Eagles took flight — even if the team’s takeoff was a little rough. The Eagles opened with a 56–0 annihilation by the New York Giants that set the tone for years to come. But Bell wouldn’t give up. He did everything, including coaching.

As NFL commissioner, he invented the modern NFL draft. Bell’s design was to allow every team an opportunity for the No. 1 pick based on record, regardless of geography. Thus, making the Green Bay Packers as relevant as the New York Giants. On Oct. 11, 1959, Bell attended the Eagles vs. Steelers game at Franklin Field, declining the complimentary tickets that were routinely left for him and opting instead to sit with the fans. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Bell suffered a massive heart attack. He died at University Hospital. If he had lived 14 more months, he would have seen his dream win another NFL championship at the very same Franklin Field against Vince Lombardi’s Packers. It was the only championship game Lombardi ever lost.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington Township

The troubles at Faragalli’s Bakery are, of course, unfortunate, but I was stunned and appalled to read in The Inquirer that the bakery admits to using doors and other construction scraps to power their oven. Lumber used for construction is treated with an assortment of toxic chemicals, including arsenic, to help preserve it. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency, along with numerous peer-reviewed studies, advises against burning this type of wood because of its harmful environmental and public health effects. Using treated wood as baking tinder — especially in a densely populated area very close to two elementary schools — is extremely unsafe for the surrounding community. Faragalli’s decision to burn construction wood is presented in the article as a charming, clever solution to running out of coal. It is anything but. If the bakery can reopen, it should promise to stop this practice, and the city should ensure it follows through.

Sharona Sokolow, Philadelphia

I was thrilled to see the voters’ guide to the 2024 Pennsylvania primary in The Inquirer, only to find myself disappointed upon reading it. Traditionally, I’ve understood the guide to be a tool to aid voters in navigating the ballot, providing insights into the candidates and their positions on pertinent issues. However, my experience with the recent guide left me disheartened. Rather than offering an objective presentation of the candidates and their stances, the guide appeared to lean heavily toward persuasion. Democratic candidates were depicted in a favorable light, while Republicans were often portrayed negatively. As a voter, I seek factual information that enables me to make an unbiased decision, free from editorial influence. I urge The Inquirer to reconsider its approach. Providing readers with impartial, fact-based profiles of each candidate would better serve the public interest. The media plays a crucial role in informing voters, and a fair and balanced guide would uphold journalistic integrity and promote democratic participation.

Russ Napolitano, Upper Gwynedd

The Sixers’ proposal for an arena on top of Jefferson Station in Center City touts proximity to public transit as a selling point, yet fails to demonstrate even a passing familiarity with SEPTA’s past and present challenges. SEPTA is a public resource facing severe economic difficulties, staffing shortages, and safety and quality-of-life issues. It is not a ready-made convenience beholden to the needs of a for-profit luxury item of limited utility. Who would pay for the changes to SEPTA that the arena would require?

Moreover, the arena would lack events for more than 200 nights of the year, curtailing rather than promoting activity. When 18,500 fans do show up, there is no guarantee car users will willingly switch to SEPTA, and SEPTA may not be able to accommodate them, which means the developers’ current parking and traffic projections are unreliable. Does anyone believe car use will drop by 40%-50% and bus and train ridership will skyrocket by 150%-300%? More than 75% of current Wells Fargo Center guests live outside Philadelphia. When suburbanites discover they’d rather not leave their cars at home, it is city residents who will bear the burden of the gridlock and pollution that will swaddle Center City — and choke off businesses — as a result.

Eugenia Ulanova, Philadelphia

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 200 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.