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There are lies, damned lies and statistics. Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast uses the third when he claims that the skyrocketing enrollment comes from parents pulling their children out of "private" schools due to the recession. The county schools keeps records of those enrolling from such schools, but not those leaving for such schools, nor does it keep track of the vast home-schooled population. Moreover, Weast ignores the fact that in the burgeoning upcounty region, where he wants to expand the new Clarksburg High School and build additional new middle and elementary schools, there are significant barriers to entry for independent schools posed by zoning regulations, water and sewer restrictions and the scarcity of land due to the Agricultural Reserve.

The Supreme Court recognized in 1925 that the traditional American understanding of liberty prevented the state from forcing students to accept instruction only from public schools, stating that this responsibility belonged to the child's parents. What we are seeing is economic coercion and the machinery of zoning taking away that liberty. MCPS undoubtedly [offers] fine schools for many (they should be for the money), but some parents want something different. Isn't it about time we did something for those parents?

J. W. McPherson, Silver Spring