In an interview with The Lima News, state Sen. Matt Huffman painted a picture of the school situation in Lima. Parents in affluent areas already send their kids to “appropriate schools.” Other parents figure out how to open enroll their kids in “nearby schools.” “But what about the poorest of the poor? Where are they going to go?” Huffman asked.
Against the implied backdrop of the city of Lima, we may translate Sen. Huffman’s remarks: Wealthy parents send their kids to private schools. Knowledgeable parents open enroll their kids in Shawnee or Bath or Elida. Now, how are we going to help poor parents get their kids out of the Lima City Schools? Answer: vouchers!
Huffman is not subtle in how he implicitly portrays the Lima City Schools: They are a pit of failure and den of disorder from which escape is the only option for a decent education.
When it came time last year for our son to begin kindergarten, we were eager to enroll him at the Liberty Arts Magnet of the Lima City Schools. He is receiving a well-rounded education in a supportive environment that values both academics and character. He learns to read and write, studies math and science, and enjoys participating in art, music, drama and dance classes. And he attends school along with students drawn from across all the neighborhoods and diversity of Lima. We are quite pleased with the situation.
As a parent, as a taxpayer, and as a voter, I am seriously troubled by Sen. Huffman’s implicit depiction of the Lima City Schools and explicit agenda to divert public funds to private schools.
Darrin W Snyder Belousek, Lima
