Netlets for Thursday, July 10

The Star Tribune is correct in recommending that charter school sponsors have greater oversight (editorial, July 2). But recent issues surrounding charter schools can't all be put on the doorstep of sponsors.

The Minnesota Department of Education bears some blame. Its school choice division is woefully understaffed. As an ex-board member of a charter school, I know personally how frustrating it was to call the MDE with questions and get an "I don't know" or "Get your attorney to interpret that legislation." Charter schools don't have staff attorneys. Nor, on shoestring budgets, can they afford to get outside attorney rulings on the many issues that come up over the course of a school year.

The fact is the MDE has relied on large school districts and their administrative staffs to do their job for them. Charter schools don't have that bureaucratic infrastructure and need the MDE to fulfill its legitimate role. Until the MDE steps up to the plate, charters will continue to work in the dark and later be chastised for breaking rules that didn't exist when their policies were put in place. That is not an effective way to run a school.

KATHY ROGERS, MINNETONKA

Sen. Norm Coleman says "the fastest route to putting a dent in gas price increases is to begin reducing dependence on foreign oil by: authorizing oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Florida" (Star Tribune, July 2).

Coleman is typical of laymen who think you can just send out a $400,000/day drill ship and start poking holes in the ocean floor. Our biggest off shore discovery is Chevron's Jack 2 well in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico. It will take years to define that field and each well runs about $100 million. The Minerals Management Service just accepted bids on several million acres offshore in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. Shortages of seismic capability and drilling rigs will delay production on those for years. We can open up more areas for bids, and it won't accomplish much. But it sounds good to voters.

ROLF E. WESTGARD, ST. PAUL; MEMBER, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS

Froma Harrop's column about the declining value of the dollar and how that has contributed to the rise in gas prices ("Another thing your dollar can't buy: respect," July 2) makes perfect sense. The dollar has lost 30 percent against the Euro in the last eight years. If the dollar had remained as stable as the Euro we would now be paying only $2.80 per gallon instead of $4 -- which begs the question, why has the dollar declined so much? Could it have anything to do with the huge deficit spending of the Bush administration?

JOHN LUNDGREN, NEW BRIGHTON

Why are liberals crying so much about cuts in funding for public defenders? Am I missing something?

Our economy is in a tailspin. Our funding for schools, roads, medical care, social services and many other things are suffering. People are struggling to make ends meet. Many people are cutting back and spending less. Food prices are soaring. Home foreclosures are at record highs. Why do people think funding public defenders is more of a priority, or that they are a sacred cow?

I have a message for these liberals: Get over it and join the real world, or make a private contribution to the public defenders office. I have another message for criminals: Stop committing crimes, or pay your own way through the legal system, or risk being defended by these already overworked public servants.

TOM O'CONNELL, PLYMOUTH

A series of print advertisements carried in this newspaper and others promoting a for-profit student loan company misleads students and their parents as they navigate the already complex world of financial aid and needlessly insults the integrity of financial aid professionals everywhere.

"I didn't use my brain. I got a student loan from the financial aid office," is the headline, above an empty-headed zombie, implying that colleges and universities can't be trusted to give good advice.

It is precisely this kind of predatory practice that discourages students from getting sound advice, applying for free government aid and even considering college at all due to perceptions that borrowing is the only option.

The first step to getting financial aid is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which determines a student's eligibility for a wide range of federal and state grants, subsidized loans and often scholarships offered by the colleges that interest you. The application, instructions and complete information is available at www.fafsa.edu.gov.

The financial aid offices at Minnesota's colleges and universities are excellent resources, staffed by dedicated professionals who want the very best for their prospective students. College financial aid administrators are experienced in helping students and families complete the FAFSA and in putting together a financial aid package for every student including free aid such as grants or scholarships, or subsidized loans that must be paid back. Students and families should know that the financial aid offices at Minnesota's universities and colleges are informed and experienced, and can recommend ways to secure the most advantageous financial aid available.

Private student loans should be pursued only as a last resort, after all government aid, scholarships, work study earnings, college savings and subsidized government loans have been exhausted. Students should fully understand the responsibility of taking out a student loan -- particularly the consequences of borrowing without completing a degree that will help them secure a good job.

There may be a reason why this for-profit lender runs ads to discourage the public from talking with the experts. For clear and objective information on paying for college, visit the state of Minnesota's resource: www.getreadyforcollege.org or the federal resource at www.studentaid.ed.gov.

SUSAN HEEGAARD, DIRECTOR, MINNESOTA OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, ST. PAUL