To the editor:

Supporters of State Education Commissioner Bob Corkins often state that, despite possessing no credentials or experience in the field of education, he is nonetheless qualified for the job. However, in Dave Ranney’s Feb. 9 Journal-World story, “Corkins to ask for $150M for state’s schools,” Corkins is quoted, “There is no criteria by which to judge success in meeting the court’s expectations.”

I won’t even address the obvious fact that Corkins’ remarks belie his understanding of the Kansas court ruling in this matter. I will address our education commissioner’s grammatical skills. “Criteria” is the plural of “criterion.” Therefore, Mr. Corkins should have said, “There ARE no criteria by which to judge success in meeting the court’s expectations.” Even without a background in education, it is reasonable to expect that the chief state education official can speak English on a junior high school level.

Robert Sokol,

Lawrence