School Board Faulted for Stance on Prop. 187

H. Eric Schockman tells us (“Why Proposition 187 Needs Judicial Review,” Jan. 22) that it is politically stupid to launch recall initiatives against local school board members. Would he think it stupid to recall a member of the school board if he knew that that member had violated state law?

Throughout the election campaign, the Los Angeles school board, under the direction of its president, Mark Slavkin, sent propaganda home with children threatening disaster if Proposition 187 passed. Parents of children were told by Mr. Slavkin that school lunches would be cut and 10,000 people would be laid off, among other horrors. Gov. Pete Wilson, on the other hand, said these things wouldn’t happen.

Adrienne Mark, a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District, wrote the following about information sent to teachers: “I couldn’t tell the difference between the privately financed political propaganda and the taxpayer-supported informational leaflets” about Proposition 187.

California law is very clear on this. Taxpayer-funded institutions are barred from attempting to influence the outcome of elections (Stanson vs. Mott, 1976). They may provide balanced information, but they are barred from taking sides. The school board took sides, pure and simple.

Would Mr. Schockman think it stupid to recall a member of the school board if he knew that private funds had already been committed to contest Proposition 187 in the courts? Does he think it necessary to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars when a simple request for declaratory relief would have sufficed?

The LAUSD lawsuit against the people of California was an extension of outrageous, illegal acts that were perpetuated on the people of California by the Los Angeles Unified School District board during the election campaign. Mr. Slavkin has admitted that it is a means of pursuing his own political agenda.

If it is politically stupid to stand up to tyrannical acts that violate our Constitution, count me in with those who qualify.

GLENN SPENCER

Sherman Oaks

Spencer is president of Voice of Citizens Together, an organization that opposes illegal immigration.