Kids aren’t political pawns

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) continues to politicize public education at all levels, most recently with his appointees to the University of Virginia’s board, as noted in the Feb. 24 front-page article “Board member charts battle for ‘soul of UVA.’ ”

It is not clear that he either understands, or cares, about maintaining the outstanding public education we have in Virginia, from primary through higher education. The governor went to a private high school in Norfolk and private universities in Texas and Massachusetts, and his children go to private schools in D.C. and Maryland. If he or his kids went to public Virginia schools, as my kids did, he would know that the best way to maintain their excellence is to not use them as pawns to advance his political ambitions.

Richard Dreiman, Falls Church

Articles such as the Feb. 24 front-page piece “Board member charts battle for ‘soul of UVA’ ” about Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointments to the University of Virginia’s board made me recall my time there as a PHD student many years ago.

In those days, the faculty and students would often refer to the school as a “public Ivy.” U-VA. has a very large endowment. The state supports only a small percentage of the school’s budget even though the board selected by the state seems to be causing many of the school’s issues.

Maybe the time has come for the school to actually become a private institution, so it doesn’t have to suffer from the strikes and blows of our state’s very repugnant political vicissitudes.

Ellen Brown, Fredericksburg