Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I know the citizens of Gloucester care about our public schools. Last November, 62 percent of us voted to increase our sales tax to help pay for school renovations and new school construction. When the board of supervisors voted to use the sales tax to pay on past debt instead of using it as the voters intended, we felt we had been tricked. Well, don’t be tricked again. Youngkin’s education plan will hurt our public schools.

Youngkin thinks he can trick us with his promise to increase education funding. What he really means is that he plans to use $1.2 billion in American Rescue Plan funds for vouchers for students to attend private schools. That is $1.2 billion that won’t be going to renovate our local aging public schools, improve access to technology for our students, or to recruit and retain the best teachers for our students.

His plan includes construction of 20 new charter schools. That’s money that should be used for construction and renovation...