To the editor:
I had to read the letter written by Jerry Drummond and published in the April issue of the Catholic Courier twice to assure myself that I was reading it correctly.
One can only suppose that Mr. Drummond never attended a parochial school — private school as the pundits insist on calling these and other like institutes of learning — as opposed to the private schools reserved for the wealthy who can afford them.
Neither my late husband nor myself and hundreds, maybe thousands of people like us, could not by any stretch of the imagination be deemed rich. We sent our children to parochial school because we wished them to grow up proficient not only in the three Rs but also with a clear knowledge of what life is truly about and why we are placed on earth, something nonexistent in public school curricula.
For this privilege we paid school taxes to educate the young at ever increasing costs and with ever decreasing results. In addition, out of our own pockets, we helped to pay for our parochial schools and keep them afloat. Our teachers, who do wonderful work with the resources they have, are rewarded with salaries that are laughable compared to those in the public sector.
The sad part is that with ever-escalating taxes many good Catholic and other parents find it more and more difficult to finance two school systems and very much resent their children as being treated like second class citizens.
No, Mr. Drummond, we will not go out and buy a new Porsche or a new boat. If we receive tax credit we will continue to support our “private” — parochial — schools.
Joyce P. Szwagiel
Drummond Street
Auburn
