LAUSD’s Priorities Are Down the Toilet

Re “District’s Bathroom Brouhaha,” June 18: I believe it comes down to priorities: classroom books for the students or $100,000 for private bathrooms; smaller classrooms or $100,000 bathrooms; raises for the teachers or $100,000 bathrooms; supplies for the schools or $100,000 bathrooms; fine arts and sports in the schools or $100,000 bathrooms. Is it that difficult to decide what’s right for the children in the public schools?

The L.A. school board members need a place to escape the throng of questions thrown at them in the hallways--I’m so sorry they are so inconvenienced. Tell it to the children and teachers who don’t have enough books to go around the class or even to take home to do their homework. I’m sure they’ll understand and agree that the seven new bathrooms for $100,000 should get priority. What an insult!

Bonnie Kalaf

Studio City

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The decision to build private restrooms for school district executives and board members further illustrates the dichotomy between the LAUSD’s administrative actions and its educational priorities. Last year, when my daughter was enrolled at Dodson Middle School, we learned that the school’s formula for keeping “clean” restrooms was to lock them and block students from having access to them.

We were repeatedly assured by local school administrators, district officials and the superintendent himself that the school was “in compliance” with district policies concerning students’ access to restroom facilities. As if the daily demands of school were not stressful enough, a growing number of LAUSD students must also put up with overcrowded campuses and a scarcity of restrooms.

Thank you, LAUSD, for showing us where your real priorities are.

J. Robert Torp

San Pedro

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We have one commode and no urinal in the only men’s faculty restroom in the three-story science building at Jordan High School. There is a line for the use of this commode at almost any time of the day. It shouldn’t take much imagination to envision the impact of this kind of aging, neglected infrastructure on the mental state of all the stakeholders at this school and other schools like it.

Robert G. Coger

Los Angeles