Poor marks for a shorter year

Re “Cutting school year sparks alarm,” Jan. 8

So let me get this straight: Given a choice to pass a yacht tax, return the car registration fee to the level it was six years ago and perhaps add one penny to the sales tax, or further erode the public school system by making midyear cuts (when our schools are already operating on shoestring budgets) and shortening an already short school year, the governor and Republicans in the Legislature have chosen the latter?

And they wonder why people are leaving California in droves.

Linda Barnett

Anaheim

--

I like the governor’s plan. Our kids don’t learn much in public schools anyway, so what’s the big deal about five days? We should give them the assignment of writing an essay about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights over the five days off. When they return, they can grade each others’ essays. Then we could cancel any classes on government, as one reading of the Constitution would be worth more than the whole 12 years of public schooling.

Eric Taylor

Sunland

--

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to shorten the public school year is an example of the elitist attitude found in too many elected officials. The governor’s children go to private schools; his and other privileged children will not be shortchanged. Cutting the school year will erode gains made to equalize opportunity and enable children of all socioeconomic backgrounds to succeed.

Ilene Oller

Los Angeles

--

Research has consistently shown that to improve the long-term economic conditions of a state, there needs to be a decrease in the percentage of people living in poverty (less spending on social services), a decrease in the rate of violent crime (lower public safety, court and prison costs) and an increase in the level of income (higher levels of spending and tax revenue). Research also has shown that increasing the overall level of education within a state leads to a long-term decrease in poverty, a decrease in violent crime and increased income. Given this, please explain why our governor’s solution to the long-term economic problems facing California is to decrease the educational opportunities available to its citizens?

William J. Crampon

Lakewood

--

Seema Mehta’s article on the proposal to cut the school year one week uses words such as “panic” and “devastating” from educators and school officials. If losing time in class is so bad, why don’t these educators curtail the following practices very common in secondary schools: late start days for teacher meetings, shortened classes for rallies and assemblies, letting athletes out early on game days, minimum days for conferences and final exams, and relaxed days for students before vacations? As a veteran teacher, I know that a 50-minute lesson cannot be taught with the class time reduced by 10 or 15 minutes.

Steve Murray

Huntington Beach