Healey & shelters

In article “Healey reduces shelter capacity,” (March 14) Governor Healey is quoted as saying that “we are making real progress when it comes to lowering the cost of this system to the taxpayers. Massachusetts is managing this federal problem but Congress needs to act on meaningful reform instead of making Massachusetts taxpayers foot the fill for their failures.”

No, no, no, Governor Healey, Massachusetts taxpayers are footing the bill because of her interpretation of the 1980’s law to provide housing to homeless families with children and pregnant women. That law wasn’t meant for anyone who just showed up in Massachusetts but it should be only for those who are legal residents of our state. Her interpretation of our law is the problem — not the US Congress.

Barbara Tansey Bush

Charlestown

Dept. of Education

The U.S. Congress must reject President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and undermine the foundation of public education in this country.

We have witnessed countless attacks on public education at the hands of this president and his administration since he took office. In this most recent attack, nearly 50% of Department of Education employees were unjustly fired in the name of government efficiency. With the significant reduction in staff, the Trump administration has effectively shuttered the agency and gutted its ability to support public schools, compromising our children’s legal right to quality and equitable public education and they are attempting to circumvent our U.S. Congress to do so!

Without a fully functioning U.S. Department of Education? This is what we are certain to see in our schools: Fewer qualified teachers in classrooms, an end to tutoring programs and remedial services for students at Title I schools, an end to our special education laws, more students with disabilities unable to learn, and more unchecked discrimination against students of color, girls, and others who face harassment and bias.

As a concerned member of this community and a passionate advocate for equitable opportunities in education, I believe these attacks on public education will have devastating long-term consequences for our children, our schools, and our country’s future. I urge our members of Congress to invest in public schools and rein in the Trump administration’s attacks on our public education system. Our children’s future depends on it.

Bart Ryan

Waltham

Editorial cartoon by Joe Heller (Joe Heller)