School Salaries

I was appalled to read, in the ad published by the United Teachers of Los Angeles (Nov. 18), of the outrageous salaries paid to public officials to mismanage the school system.

These salaries are a slap in the face of the taxpaying public. It could have passed close examination, albeit reluctantly, if we were blessed by an outstanding school system and scholastic results we could be proud of. However, in light of the miserable failure of the system to produce excellence--on which the future of this country will be decided, both academically and economically--it is high time to take a good look at the cancer-like bureaucracy that developed over the years in this sensitive, and not fully appreciated, educational system.

Who are the people who populate this bureaucracy? What is their background that allows them this power and provides them with salaries and benefits far above what is considered achievable by any industry standards, including company executives and the absolute majority of the population? What are the tools employed by our educational system to monitor and evaluate their performance and weed out the unqualified and the deadwood? Will they pass the everyday criteria of the harsh life of the business world, or are they immune from such standards that the rest of us are being judged by?

Last, but not least, no, I am not a teacher--never have I been one. Nor would I consider it under the circumstances prevailing in this country. I was raised on European established educational standards and agonized over the reality of the educational system here, while trying to raise two daughters.

It is time for a change!

E. DeGANI

Santa Monica