The mayor’s school plan draws objections

Re “... Teaching through fear,” editorial, April 21

I am concerned about the prospect of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa taking over the L.A. schools. Villaraigosa has been mayor for about one year and has yet to establish a track record for managing large governmental institutions. I would rather see the mayor demonstrate his managerial ability with running the city government first before taking on the burden of running the schools. I am concerned that without a demonstrated track record of effective management, both the city and the school system may suffer in the end.

EMANUEL R. BAKER

Los Angeles

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Why would you take the authority to run a school district from seven duly elected board members and give it to one elected mayor? Has the board neglected its responsibility to the schools or allowed mismanagement and been negligent? I think not. What if the mayor asked for this same authority regarding his duties in the city of Los Angeles, i.e. absolute authority over the budget and in hiring major department heads of the city? What would the City Council say? Why give the mayor of the city authority that he doesn’t even have as mayor? No mayor or governor in California has that type of authority. I believe that it is dangerous to give that much authority to one person. It violates the balance of power.

CHRISTOPHER KAKIMI

Hacienda Heights

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I am a veteran teacher at a failing high school. Our schools are failing for a number of reasons, from bad parenting to poor leadership to failed legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act. Maybe it is a good idea to let the mayor control the combined budgets of the city and the schools or maybe it is not. From my perspective, there seems to be one solution that almost all parties keep ignoring: class size. In the L.A. Unified School District, we average 37.5 students per class in high school, a number that is commonly exceeded. Until this number is reduced, you can consider any reform model DOA.

CHRISTOPHER MCCAULEY

Redondo Beach