Report on School Board

* In laying the blame for “substandard education” of Los Angeles schoolchildren at the feet of the LAUSD board, the Committee on Effective School Governance (Feb. 18) overlooked several important factors having a far greater impact on student achievement in this district than any issues related to governance. For example, the LAUSD board did not:

1. Reduce state per-pupil spending from fifth in the nation to 42nd over a 30-year period.

2. Manufacture the recession of the early ‘90s, which necessitated huge cuts in support services to schools.

3. Create a statewide teacher shortage resulting in many of our classrooms being staffed by under-qualified teachers.

4. Give state government re- strictive control over what should be local spending decisions.

5. Create one of the state’s most powerful labor unions (UTLA), with which the school board must negotiate its budget priorities.

6. Concoct a plan to rapidly reduce class size without taking into account the availability of new teachers and space for new classrooms.

7. Require the immediate implementation of Proposition 227, disregarding the chaos it would unleash on our schools.

Our board and those preceding us had to deal with these and other vexing problems, many of which are political in nature. This reality seems to be lost on the citizens committee. Without this perspective, the “corporate” approach they expound appears attractive, but it is both superficial and naive in its substance, and more importantly, it is unworkable.

VICTORIA CASTRO

President, LAUSD Board

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* Re “School Board Says Highly Critical Report Goes Too Far,” Feb. 19: I never thought that I would speak on behalf of the L.A. school board. For nearly two years, we have been trying to have an “audience” with the superintendent, Ruben Zacarias. We are teachers who have gone through all the channels to have our principal removed from our school. We have spoken to the cluster leaders, one assistant superintendent and to our board member. He was the only person who actively tried to help us. He insisted that the final decision was Zacarias’ to make.

We are still trying to see Dr. Zacarias. It would be nice if Zacarias had more time to listen to teacher concerns. Our union can only go so far. This board member was very accessible to us on the phone as well as in person. The report says that all board members should involve themselves in the grander projects. Are buildings more important than the morale of a whole school community? Let them do both and use their talents where they can better serve the whole LAUSD.

D. GELBERG KLEIN

Los Angeles