Thoughts on “Vote ‘Yes’ on Real-Estate Tax Reform” (Oct. 26 letters) by LeRoy L. Metz II:

In the upcoming election, the referendum on real-estate tax reform deserves the thoughtful attention of voters. Real-estate tax is filled with unfairness and badly in need of reform. However, real-estate tax is the major source of funding for schools. What will happen to public schools if this referendum passes and then leads to defunding public education?

America is a nation built on competing dualities, with public vs. private paramount. Is public education a responsibility of all citizenship or is education strictly a private endeavor? Is the public opportunity for education a right or at least the equivalent of a right for national security? Or is education a free-market commodity to be purchased only by those who can afford it?

The problem with this referendum, and with Mr. Metz’s letter, is it is not based on an established and viable alternative for public school funding. Voting yes for this referendum without knowing the future of education in Pennsylvania is an open invitation to the polarized political divisiveness that plagues America today.

DAVE McKINNIS
Butler

The writer is a retired schoolteacher.

First Published: November 4, 2017, 4:00 a.m.