LETTERS: Education Savings Accounts a lifeboat for parents, students

The new Education Savings Accounts law, if upheld, will pay $5,100 to $5,700 per child, per year, should parents utilize the ESA by pulling that child out of public school. In her commentary against ESAs, Sylvia R. Lazos states that this amount of money will not help the poor because private school tuition costs much more than $5,100 to $5,700 ("Education Savings Accounts imperil public education," Sept. 1 Review-Journal).

Is Ms. Lazos advocating raising the ESA amount? I think not. She is arguing to kill the entire program. Over time, this law will create a lot more private schools that don't charge what the elite schools here charge. How about letting the parents decide whether it's enough?

Ms. Lazos states that this program will negatively affect public school funding. But she knows that the total cost to the public per student in Nevada is well over $5,700, and that for each student who leaves public school to use the ESA, public schools will retain the funding above the threshold that student receives.

The ESA law might also alleviate the teacher shortage. Private schools seem to be able to draw and keep teachers. Why do you think that is?

Ms. Lazos also states, "All Nevadans agree that we must improve our public schools." How about we just agree that all children should be given the opportunity to get a good education, and that their parents — especially disadvantaged families — should have input on where?

And Ms. Lazos writes that "this law puts our public schools and their students at risk of continuing failure, to the detriment of our collective future." She must not have read what she'd written. If she had been the captain of the Titanic, she would have declared that because there aren't enough lifeboats, and not everyone can be saved, everyone should stay on board.

Jerry Price

Las Vegas

Attacks on Obama

It is quite clear that whoever is in charge of deciding which letters to the editor get published has been encouraged to publish items that attack President Barack Obama, no matter how outrageous or untruthful the letter is.

Case in point, George Evashwick's letter ("Obama and Iran," Sept. 19 Review-Journal). Mr. Evashwick stated, "Iran backs ISIS, which has a perverted interpretation of religion that espouses murder, rape and repression." He apparently is not aware of the real world and simply uses the language to somehow blame the president for what is going on in the Middle East.

The Review-Journal should set the record straight: Iran is a hardened enemy of ISIS and vice versa. So who is being feckless, naive and duplicitous? Certainly not President Obama.

Larry Badgley

Las Vegas

NV Energy scam

Thanks for a laugh-out-loud moment, telling readers about NV Energy's Subscription Solar program ("NV Energy pitching pilot solar program," Sept. 11 Review-Journal). This is an absurd consumer scam. Unless NV Energy applies for nonprofit status, I would rather donate money to a proper environmental charity than to Warren Buffett's shareholders.

Carol Przybycien

Las Vegas

Fear of refugees

The stories about the Hungarian police forcing refugees onto trains look very similar to the pictures from the 1930s and '40s, when the Germans were doing the same thing to Jews and others. The world turned its back on Jews and refused to accept refugees because they were Jews, although many denied that was the reason.

Now, many countries are not accepting these new refugees because they are Muslim, although again, many would deny that as the reason. Have we in the United States become so insular and fearful that we will not accept some of these migrants?

Judith Lachance

Las Vegas