Streets and Schools

For some reason, a great number of streets in my Atwater neighborhood are being dug up and repaved, even though no potholes or other disrepair were discernible on any of them. Meanwhile, my children cross these streets to get to a school where budget cuts have made the situation so bad that teachers complain of not having money even for rudimentary supplies like books and pencils, and frustrated parents search frantically to get their kids out--to a magnet or private school, or even home schooling!

Of course, it’s not that there isn’t plenty of money to take care of our public schools; it’s that the system of divvying up the tax pie is rife with politics, mismanagement and false priorities. Hence, someone gets fat off the street “repair” boondoggle, while our already squeezed and drained school system gets poorer each year.

At the very least, we who care should let our loyal government servants know that we just don’t believe them when they tell us nothing can be done about this truly terrible situation.

JUDITH A. LEVITT

Los Angeles