Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor: Dec. 11, 2022 – Austin American-Statesman

Re: Dec. 5 article, “Debate brews in Texas over using public money for private special education programs.”
Every legislative session Texans debate the efficiency and equity of private school vouchers. The argument in favor of vouchers usually begins advocating for special education students only, and every session, at least in Texas, these voucher bills do not pass. 
Laura Steinbach, head of Rawson-Saunders private school states: “Public schools don’t have the resources. We get to charge as much as it takes to give the best education possible. Totally different model.”
Inadvertently, Steinbach, presumably in favor of vouchers, underscores the problem. If, as she admits, Texas public schools are already underfunded, how does siphoning public funds to private schools address the issue and ameliorate the problem? Public funds need to support public schools. 
Sara Stevenson, Austin
Re: Dec. 4 commentary, “America’s culture wars make losers of us all.”
Like a combat reporter embedded on the front lines, USA TODAY’s John Wood Jr. bemoans the GOP’s losses due to cancel culture in one breath while touting its moderate advances with Black and Latino support in the next.
Oddly, Wood makes no mention of the GOP’s overwhelming support among white supremacists, insurrectionists, costumed militias, QAnon and various other conspiracy theorists.
I don’t buy the argument that when good confronts evil, they’re both losers. I don’t believe that when hate speech meets resistance, there are no winners. But if I was a conservative, I would certainly want people to believe that one side is no better than the other.
Ken Lones, Austin
Re: Dec. 2 commentary, “Be slow about placing blame.”
Just as conservatives have been glacially slow to blame Trump for Jan. 6, conservative columnist Ingrid Jacques wants LGBTQ people to be “slow” to blame conservative homophobic rhetoric for the Club Q shooting.
Conservatives, however, have not been slow to vilify LGBTQ people.
Since Anita Bryant’s 1970s Save Our Children campaign, conservatives have demonized LGBTQ people as “groomers” and “pedophiles.” With the metastasis of the radical right, these slurs have surged. Here’s a short list of conservatives slinging the “groomer” slur: Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, Anthony Sabatini, Cristian Pushaw, Lana Theis, JD Vance, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson and the list goes on.
Dr. Gene Abel, sexual violence researcher for over 25 years, writes, “[M]ost men who molest little boys are not gay. Nearly 80 percent of the men who molested little boys were heterosexual or bisexual and most of these men were married and had children of their own.”
Jesus Barrera, Austin
Veterans in Texas experience numerous barriers to health care, and a change being considered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs could leave them without access to lifesaving care. The VA’s proposal to cut its reimbursement rate for emergency air medical services would force air ambulance bases to close, causing devastating loss of medical care for veterans.
The air medical industry is crucial in Texas – home to the country’s largest veteran population – connecting thousands without direct access to a trauma center to the nearest appropriate facility.
The VA is considering cutting its reimbursement rate to equal the Medicare rate. However, the last publicly available report concluded that even back in 2015 reimbursement rates did not adequately cover the costs, and costs have significantly increased since then.
We must protect our veterans just like they protected us and urge the VA not to cut its reimbursement rates for air ambulances.
PJ Amartey, Save Our Air Medical Resources Campaign Spokesperson, Washington, D.C.
Re: Dec. 6 article, “The price of special education.” 
Tiny class sizes at the private school in Tarrytown would be a luxury for public school teachers. And yes, fewer students translate to more undivided attention.
However, having larger classes doesn’t prevent public school teachers from asking more of themselves and giving more to their students. Teachers dig down deep to find more creative, more innovative, more data-driven, student-driven methods of teaching their special education students. Larger classes don’t mean that students are being short-changed. 
Tenacious certified teachers who know best practices are in every public school. Parents, you do not have to send your children to a pricey private school for them to thrive in their special education classrooms and beyond. 
The proposal to use public funds for private school vouchers is wasteful and unnecessary. Lawmakers, if you have money to spend, use it to raise the salary of public school teachers.
Valerie Goranson, Round Rock
Re: Dec. 2 article, “Texas lawmakers signed NDAs to quietly obtain Uvalde shooting case file. What do they know?“
The Department of Public Safety is once again shielding the public from critical records and timelines of Uvalde’s school massacre.
The DPS refuses to hold themselves accountable. Gov. Greg Abbott gets in front of cameras and has to admit he was lied to by the DPS and pledges the public will be served by his office to make this right. Instead, Texans get Abbott’s unthinkable, “It could have been worse.”
How can it be worse? Non-disclosure agreements shielding DPS.
Imagine Uvalde’s Christmas morning this year, lawmakers. The emptiness of a house that has lost a child to this evil must be unbearable. Uvalde deserves complete transparency of this atrocity. On Christmas morning as they open their presents I hope Abbott and legislators remember the heartbreak and emptiness of Uvalde’s families. They deserve better.
Glenn Kelly, Cedar Park
Re: Dec. 2 article, “4 things to know about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s plans for the Texas Legislature in 2023.”
With such a surplus, the State of Texas could/should fully fund or at least make an extra contribution to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
The teacher’s retirement fund received an infusion a while back and actually each retiree got a 13th check, but there has been no commitment that the State of Texas would make an infusion to the fund out of this excess.
We retirees have not had a significant raise in many years and it is time for the state to step up and prioritize this fund.  After all, those state employees were historically paid less than the private sector with our future retirement income being the carrot for many of us to remain in state employment.
With the rise in cost of everything, those pensions and/or Social Security don’t go near far enough to meet our senior needs. Take us off the back burner and help us now. 
Kay Holliday, Round Rock
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