Why Teachers Don’t Trust Supt. Romer
Re “Teachers Union’s Excess,” editorial, Jan. 31: The Times is right to credit classroom teachers for recent gains in student achievement and for noting that we deserve a salary increase. Many teachers were hopeful when Roy Romer arrived in 2000. Their optimism has faded as Romer’s priorities shifted.
In 2002, the superintendent “saved” $70 million by adding two students to each class in grades 4 to 12, but spent an additional $73 million on district administrators. The number of Los Angeles Unified School District personnel paid more than $100,000 per year has increased from 130 in 1999 to 560 in 2003. By contrast, when the school board ordered Romer to reduce the number of mini-districts from 11 to eight, he reassigned the same bureaucrats into fewer offices and the district didn’t save one cent. Tens of thousands of LAUSD employees have declared no confidence in Romer’s ability to continue leading the district. Our schools need more funding, and the public deserves to know its taxes are reaching students, but the LAUSD’s $6.8-billion budget is as clear as mud.
Romer can begin to restore teachers’ confidence by opening the books, providing credible data and offering that pay raise you say we deserve.
John Perez
President
United Teachers Los Angeles
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