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LETTERS - Nov. 30

ISSUE | PA. SCHOOLS Study up on funding Pennsylvania is one of only three states without a consistently applied school funding formula, which creates unfairness for students and disparities among school districts. State officials must find an equitable method to distribute funds so that all students can have access to a high-quality education.

ISSUE | PA. SCHOOLS

Study up on funding

Pennsylvania is one of only three states without a consistently applied school funding formula, which creates unfairness for students and disparities among school districts. State officials must find an equitable method to distribute funds so that all students can have access to a high-quality education.

Recently, more than 850 educators met via video conference at 29 locations to discuss the need for a fair funding formula. Discussions focused on how the state legislature determines the amount and method of Basic Education Funding by using inconsistent criteria. The last true funding formula, eliminated in 2011, calculated aid based on a district's costs, which created a more level playing field.

The newly appointed Basic Education Funding Commission is working to create a funding formula that is fair, adequate, and equitable for rural, suburban, and urban districts - especially addressing Pittsburgh and Philadelphia schools' long-term needs. A new formula must consider changing school district demographics, such as population and income. Also, the state must consider student poverty levels and district size to close the achievement gap for minority students and low-income students.

|William H. Kerr, superintendent, Norwin School District, North Huntingdon

ISSUE | COSBY REVIEW

Better comparisons

How dare Leonard Pitts muse even for literary effect that Mother Teresa was a pornographer, Mr. Rogers a meth head, and the Rev. Billy Graham ran a prostitution ring. These were good, loving, talented individuals who contributed much to society ("Americans are often forgiving, but this?" Nov. 25). Instead, in discussing the Bill Cosby rape allegations, perhaps Pitts should have utilized what he called "ridiculous scenarios" of Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson being a murderer, Washington Mayor Marion Barry being a drug addict, and the adored and talented entertainer Michael Jackson, a pedophile.

|Hannah Dougherty Campbell, Havertown

ISSUE | FERGUSON, MO.

Deep-seated issues unaddressed by jury

Predictably, the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson triggered outrage in communities that see Michael Brown's killing as part of a pattern of police abuse of people of color ("Violence not the answer," Nov. 26). Law enforcement has offered little credible explanation for why Brown's body was allowed to remain on the street for 4 1/2 hours. There is little doubt that if the teenager had a lighter skin, the outcome would have been different.

In an effort to justify the shooting, Wilson described Brown as a raging Hulk Hogan-type. The prosecutor seems to have tried for a jury result absolving the officer's actions. This was a show trial aimed at pacifying an angry black community that saw through the charade.

In sharp contrast to the hyper-vigilant police presence in the predominant white business neighborhood of South Florissant, there was a total absence in the part of Ferguson owned by black businesses. Tragically, every day some black or brown child is subject to arbitrary violence with little no recourse. In poor neighborhoods, blacks often lament there is little to live for because the odds of obtaining a good life are stacked against them. As President Kennedy observed, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

|Tejinder Uberoi, Los Altos, Calif.

On that quick-draw mayoral assessment

As a now-former vocal (and white) advocate for Mayor Nutter, I am appalled by his comments immediately after the Ferguson grand jury report ("Not indicted," No. 25). After admitting that he doesn't know the facts, he had the audacity to condemn the exhaustive investigation and conclusions of the grand jury (whose job it was to determine the truth). I guess in the future we can do away with evidence and find people guilty on the basis of our emotions.

|Claire Donohue, Philadelphia

Courage to clarify question of a conviction

The televised presentation the St. Louis County prosecutor made was that of a lawyer for the defense, which he was able to pawn off on a jury by refusing to make a legitimate prosecutorial case ("Credible, unheard," Nov. 26). If Robert McCulloch had the courage of his convictions, he should simply have exercised prosecutorial discretion and taken the heat himself.

|Ben Burrows, Elkins Park

Nonviolent civil rights activist would mourn

As we draw near the day when we honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, I wonder how he would react to the situation in Ferguson, Mo. Was his life of nonviolent protest in vain? The violent protesters have shredded all that King stood for and now act as a wedge for any true racial harmony.

|William D. Markert Jr., Philadelphia

Ready with helpful advice, those Russians

I for one am eager to hear more about what the Russian government has to tell us about human rights ("Russian envoy chides U.S. over Ferguson case," Nov. 26). They have such a track record.

|Ben LaGarde, Glenmoore, blagarde2@gmail.com