Regarding commentator Kalman Hettleman's recent op-ed, I'd like to add a few observations ("School lessons to be learned from Freddie Gray." May 4).
First, in the last paragraph, Mr. Hettleman finally asked Gov. Larry Hogan to release the funds for education set aside in the state budget. Mr. Hogan should do this now while there is still time to make a difference in the 2016 fiscal year budgets of the state's school systems.
It is also time, as Mr. Hettleman pointed out, to recognize that the Baltimore City schools need radical changes to boost outcomes. Let's start with real charter school reform, not the bill that was decimated during the 2015 legislative session.
Let's also commit to improving teacher quality. As a student at Baltimore City College many years ago, I and many of my peers marched alongside our teachers as they demanded increases in pay. I believed then and still do that good teachers deserve to be well paid.
What I strenuously object to is a union that protects inferior teachers at all costs. This must change for real progress to take place.
Sheldon Caplis, Baltimore