Education Spending

Your excellent editorial “There Is No Substitute for a Good Teacher” appeared the day the California Lottery had a $117.1-million jackpot. What a travesty of human values and important social needs. That jackpot was possible because of a rollover of prize money. It distorts why the lottery was voted--to increase revenue sources and provide our children with proper educations.

What we need to do is change the jackpot arrangement. Where there is no winner, that lottery’s prize money should go into the state educational fund. That was the game’s purpose. Education was to be the winner.

We also need to insist that the governor and Legislature fulfill obligations we voted on. Proposition 98 was the public’s call to make funding for education of our children a priority. That should be heeded and made possible.

HYMAN H. HAVES

Pacific Palisades