Smaller School Districts

Re “Dear Genethia Hayes: Smaller School Districts Are Better,” Dec. 26, 1999.

Dear Shirley Svorny: You told Hayes that “there is a body of evidence--as ‘definitive’ as evidence ever gets--that smaller districts would be an improvement over our current, mammoth district.”

Oh? You did not cite a reference to specific studies to provide such evidence. Where is the beef? If smaller is better, then it stands to reason that the Compton Unified School District is better than the Los Angeles Unified School District. Test scores show otherwise.

As an economist you know Gresham’s law: Bad money will chase good money out of circulation as people will hoard good money while spending bad money as quickly as possible. There is a parallel law for education. Ross’ law: Poor teachers will replace good teachers in less desirable schools (“Class-Size Reduction Doesn’t Benefit All,” by Randy Ross, Opinion, April 7, 1999). If the LAUSD is broken up, Ross’ law will guarantee affluent districts out-competing poor districts for teaching talent.

The LAUSD’s problems stem mostly from child-rearing practices that allow children to do largely what they please. Teaching is difficult in an atmosphere of rebellion against authority. The answer is to give students a reason to follow rules that will ensure a learning environment. School districts large and small need to better understand the needs of their students. Many successful teachers and principals get good results in their classrooms. School administrators need to determine just what successful teachers do to achieve success, and make a determined effort to educate teachers in these techniques.

ELAINE V.

and JOHN F. FERGUSON

North Hollywood