Flaherty too much like Menino on education

Councilor Michael Flaherty would be more of the same if elected mayor [JP Gazette, July 10]. Even his “Good, Better” ad campaign acknowledges that he would continue the policies and tone of the Menino admini-stration.

I care about this mayoral race because I have three children in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). I am so tired of waiting for improved conditions to arrive, we have already pulled one child out to be home-schooled because we just couldn’t wait any longer.

Flaherty also seems to disapprove of the course Thomas Menino is taking. Unfortunately, it’s because of the speed with which Menino is moving, not his direction. Under Flaherty’s leadership, we could expect con-tinued and rapid movement towards neighborhood schools. Fabulous—if your neighborhood has the means to sup-plement the funding its schools would receive from BPS and if you live in an area accessible to an already good school. For the rest of Boston? Not so much.

I support Sam Yoon because he sees that Boston is a textbook example of the US’s dual system of educa-tion—one that works and one that doesn’t. Yoon understands that we need a combination of improvements in governance, leadership, partnerships and innovation to make Boston’s schools live up to their potential. I support Sam Yoon because he believes all children in Boston deserve an excellent education. Menino and Flaherty seem to think that privilege is exclusive to those in the right neighborhoods.

Deborah Nam-Krane
Jamaica Plain

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