Stretching Semesters

* Re “Davis Scales Back Plan to Lengthen School Year,” April 25: If there is enough state money to add several weeks to middle school semesters, as Gov. Gray Davis proposes, then why waste that money on a program that simply will not accomplish much? Instead, use the money to fund four- to six-week extra sessions in elementary, middle and high schools, offering remedial work only, and make it mandatory for those students who did not work up to standards during the regular school semester. That way, the funding will be targeted exactly where it is needed most.

MICHAEL WIENER

Encino