Improving L.A. Schools

Re the interview with Genethia Hayes, president of the L.A. school board, Opinion, March 5: Her straight answers seem to indicate that, at last, there is someone at the helm who will take charge and clean up what has been an extremely messy situation adversely affecting our public school system. Hayes has rightly indicated she will not allow ethnicity to determine changes she will put into effect. She deserves full cooperation from everybody.

JOSEPH M. ELLIS

Woodland Hills

*

I was struck by the answer to the question, “Where are you on (the proposed LAUSD) breakup,” as follows: “I can’t imagine why anybody would be talking about breaking up the district when we’re on the threshold of making this district work.” Wouldn’t a more accurate statement be that the district is on the threshold of meltdown? Why do these elected board members insist that there is improvement on the horizon when there is none?

The district is sadly lacking in personnel (qualified or unqualified), classrooms, material, equipment, supplies and, most sadly, in candor to admit the most obvious; LAUSD is dysfunctional, with no hope of improvement in the near or distant future. I’m sure a breakup will not make any difference either. Thirty-five years of corruption and neglect cannot be overcome by shuffling papers and changing bigger to smaller. What the district needs is nowhere in sight: Teachers and classrooms in a number sufficient to meet the needs of its students.

ROBERT MATANO

Laguna Niguel

*

Re “Council Belatedly Enters Belmont Debate,” March 4: Has the L.A. City Council lost its mind? Council members can’t keep the city on the straight and narrow and now they are meddling with the Board of Education. The lone dissenting vote of Joel Wachs was surprising. The council should withdraw the measure and leave the school district up to its elected leaders.

JACK PARRISH

Los Angeles

*

On March 3, you reported on a proposal by the L.A. school district to evict and displace over 7,000 students at Evans Community Adult School in order to house approximately 1,000 high schoolers. This is both baffling and disturbing. The implementation of this well-intentioned but shortsighted proposal will have a deleterious effect on a thriving student body, with a resultant adverse impact on the community.

One set of educational mandates should not be executed at the expense of another. I urge all thoughtful supporters of quality-based community education to contact the Board of Education so that it might veer from this inflammatory course of action.

THOMAS F. CAVANAUGH

ESL Instructor, Evans

Community Adult School, L.A.