Minority Rules on Irvine Tax

* Thank you to the countless individuals who understood the importance of passing Measure B, the Irvine parcel tax for schools: the mayor and City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, business owners, seniors, teachers, the leadership at the Irvine Co., the PTA and the parents.

It was worth doing, and the effort was stellar. This community came together in the broadest coalition imaginable--from conservative to liberal, from singles to parents to seniors.

Unfortunately, 75% of the registered voters didn’t vote. They apparently don’t think education is important enough to this community.

Ultimately, Irvine will get what it deserves, and though it is capable of excellence, average, maybe even mediocre, is what it will be known for in a few short years.

Staffing and program cuts are being discussed and will be implemented. Irvine will be left with a school district that provides what the state requires and not much else. It will be the minimum. It will not be at the caliber of what our city has always expected from our schools. The children certainly deserve better, and really, so does the entire community.

In the long view, educating the next generation is probably the single most important task that any society faces. The societies that value their survival put a great deal of effort into doing it well.

Mediocre education eventually leads to the degradation and disintegration of the society it was meant to perpetuate. We live in a democracy, of which a solid public education has always been a cornerstone. We live in an economy in which a well-educated work force is critical. We live in a community in which all members should be valued.

What can residents do to make a difference now that the district faces evisceration?

They can start writing to our elected representatives in Sacramento and Washington. Demand that the programs that are required by the federal and state legislatures be fully funded; demand that school districts receive the cost-of-living adjustments as required by law; demand that the law requiring a two-thirds majority be changed so that the majority can prevail and not be dominated by the minority.

In the case of Measure B, 37.6% cast no votes, 62.4% said yes, but 66.6% was needed to win.

LESLIE ALDEN-CROWE

Irvine Unified PTA Council

Legislative action co-chair

* Columnist George Skelton was at best misguided when he wrote on Nov. 8 that school bond proposals too often are “thwarted by a tyrannical minority.”

The fact is that the minority rules even when two-thirds of those who vote approve the imposition of a tax.

In the Irvine Unified School District on this last election day, fewer than 27% of the registered voters went to the polls. Even if two-thirds of those who voted had approved the parcel tax--that is, 18% of the registered voters--they’re still a minority, as the superintendent of the district ought to realize.

If you believe Skelton and the superintendent, in California minorities rule in virtually every election.

Indeed, given the number of eligible citizens who don’t even bother to register, let alone to vote, it is probably safe to assert that minorities rule in every election, even the important ones, like president of the United States, for example.

ROBERT M. GORDON

Irvine