Prop. 74 makes teacher job security an issue

Re “Prop. 74 Has Some Teachers at Odds,” Oct. 23

Mechanisms to dismiss incompetent teachers already exist. It is important to remember that behind every incompetent teacher is an administrator who granted that teacher permanent status, a school district that hasn’t established a good system for teacher training and a Department of Education that is not fully funding essential programs.

Proposition 74 would make it extremely difficult to recruit new teachers because then we would be one of three states with a five-year wait before permanent status, and one with high housing costs. Proposition 74 poses a grave threat to the future of our schools.

MARIANA ROBLES

Riverside

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I have tremendous respect for teachers, but most people in the working world do not have tenure protections; our livelihood continuously depends on job performance. I agree with Chino Valley schoolteacher Amber Calabrese: “If you’re doing a good job and you’re working hard, you really have no reason to be afraid of losing your job.” Rather than fund political initiatives to maintain the ineffective status quo, the California Teachers Assn. should channel its funds to defend unjustified wrongful dismissals, assist ineffective teachers and promote teaching excellence.

BOB HOFFMAN

Redondo Beach