Don't Shortchange The Students

In the St. Louis Post's Editorial and Commentary page, Mark Brandom speaks out about the injustices in the potential sales restrictions of many St. Louis closed public schools:

Shortchanging students

In "Battle over shuttered St. Louis schools escalates" (March 3), state Sen. Robin Wright-Jones, D-St. Louis, said that the St. Louis School Board owns the properties and it is its right to close the schools. Actually, although I can't believe legislators have to waste their time with this, the reality is the taxpayers own the schools, and the Legislature has a fiscal responsibility to these taxpayers.

The financial woes of the St. Louis Public schools are no secret, and I'm quite certain the pupils within the school system would stand to gain from the new funds received from the disposition of these buildings. We all know that St. Louis Public Schools' objection to the sale to charter schools is simply because they create competition. This is unfair to the students living in the St. Louis School system and shortchanges their future.

Also, I agree with Sen. Jim Lembke, R-South St. Louis County, in his assessment that the "expense of abatement" rationale is a nothing more than a "straw man" argument. I see buildings change hands all the time, and while the environmental concerns within the buildings certainly can be a negotiating point on the purchase price, the clean-up responsibility typically is borne by the purchaser.

The results of charter schools speak for themselves; let's not continue to shortchange these students simply so St. Louis Public schools can avoid competition.

Mark R. Brandom | St. Louis