Award’s Symbolic Message

* By honoring Harvard-Westlake School for excellence in education, however deserved, at the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley’s dinner (“Business, Political Leaders Pack Valley Gala,” June 25), an opportunity was missed to honor fine public schools. The San Fernando Valley’s economic well-being, not to mention that of the whole city, as well as the health of our democracy, depends on the success of its public schools.

The focus on a private school sends an implicit symbolic message that private schools are preferable. This is a message we cannot afford at this critical juncture for public education.

JOHN and JUDITH GLASS

Studio City