Letter to the editor: Bubba’s charter-school ignorance no joke

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Rep. Ray "Bubba" Sorensen, the Greenfield Republican representing Perry in Iowa House District 20, prays with his children, Independence and Michael, at this week's session of the Iowa House of Representatives. Photo courtesy Rep. Ray "Bubba" Sorensen

To the editor:

The jokes in our own Rep. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen’s Week 10 newsletter made me laugh. It’s good to know that he maintains his sense of humor. Of course, the pix of the kiddies were precious as always.

However, it’s no joke that our representative forgot a very important piece of information in his Week 10 Newsletter: the charter school expansion bill.

It’s no laughing matter that the Iowa House Republicans will be discussing the charter school expansion bill (HF813 previously HSB242) within their caucus. There’s nothing funny about this expansion bill. Here’s what it proposes:

• A “founding group” for a charter would not need to have any connection to our Nodaway Valley School Board even though it could pull funds away from our school district.
• The “founding group” can be for-profit and can use our local tax dollars, though not publicly elected
• The “founding group” meetings would not be subject to the Iowa Open Meetings laws
• *The “founding group” members would not have to live in Iowa.

This is not wise decision making. It will not do anything to make our public schools stronger.

Hands off public tax dollars for charter schools that operate like private schools, making money for their “founders” and using our children without any accountability to our local school board.

Let Rep. Sorensen know that there’s nothing to laugh about with this thinly disguised effort to weaken local public schools.

Judy Kading
Greenfield

6 COMMENTS

  1. Name-calling is childish and really makes me wonder why someone would resort to that. Perhaps their arguments about a topic are lacking or perhaps just a personal foible? You know I even hesitate to post this lest something comes my way even though nothing I’ve shared even hints about how I view charter schools.

    • What name calling are you referring to, Connie? We do not detect any name calling in the letter from Judy Kading.

      • Bubba is his given name? Or am I wondering about the wrong party? Was the “Bubba” yours? I would not want to believe that the publisher is behind that. Honestly, was the “Bubba” needed to make your or the letter writer’s point of which I might even be on your side? Was including “Bubba” really needed to further an important discussion?

  2. I get it. You turned his nickname that normally means (like he uses it): a term of endearment mainly given to boys. Being formed from the word “brother,” it often indicates that someone is a “little brother.” And you used this definition of it instead: A man of the Southern U.S., variously characterized as easygoing, companionable, assertively masculine, uneducated, bigoted, violent, etc. I apologize to the letter writer for believing she would do something like that.

  3. Redefining how one uses their nickname into the uneducated (and worse) version is name-calling even if you want to claim it isn’t. Would you do it to someone you agree with to make them look foolish? Why you did it is why it is inappropriate. I surmise we are going to continue with the coarse debate we kept bemoaning for four years because we really do not mean it when we do it.

    • Headlines are entirely the responsibility of the editor of ThePerryNews.com and not that of the writers of letters to the editor. We referred to Rep. Sorensen as Bubba simply for brevity’s sake and because that is the nickname by which he is popularly known. A less compact version of the headline would read: Rep. Sorensen’s ignoring of charter schools is no joke.

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