Schools and Corporations

Re “Infusion or Intrusion: Public Schools Enter Deals With Corporations,” Jan. 17.

Thank you for a well-researched report on how corporate influence is finding its way into almost every activity engaged in by public schools.

As a parent and teacher, I would like to respond to the spokesman for Coca-Cola Bottling Co. who was quoted as stating that “businesses have a responsibility to contribute to schools” and “corporate America is not trying to train students as consumers.”

Frankly, with all the documentation that exists on the harmful effects of daily doses of sugar, caffeine and phosphoric acid on the teeth and bones of growing children, it’s entirely possible that the most valuable contribution soft drink companies can make to our schools is to remove their products from our campuses.

When global corporations such as Coca-Cola donate to public schools it has little to do with concern for the well-being of our children and everything to do with gaining a competitive edge.

Corporations see educational marketing as the most compelling and cost-effective way to increase profits into the 21st century.

Last year the Center for Science in the Public Interest again called for a ban on the sale of soft drinks in the schools. It warned of the dangerous frequency with which today’s teenagers swig down sodas. Carbonated beverages now account for between 20% and 40% of some teens’ daily caloric intake.

How ironic that our schools do not support in action the position of the Center for Science in the Public Interest that the health of our young people is more important than profits from junk food.

SUZA FRANCINA, Mayor Pro Tem, Ojai