LETTERS

Re “L.A. cancels most summer school classes,” May 29

Oh, boo hoo. The LAUSD is canceling summer school for elementary and middle school kids, and parents don’t know what they’re going to do about child care.

The last time I checked, you went to school for an education, not for free baby-sitting. Having to go to summer school used to carry a stigma; you hadn’t done well during the school year.

The only ones I feel sorry for are teachers who depend on the extra income from teaching summer school.

Pam Poloski

Canoga Park

::

So now parents are complaining because they have no one to watch their kids in the summer. Well, welcome to the real world, where self-sufficiency and parental responsibility might finally be virtues of necessity.

I have been a taxpayer in Los Angeles for 25 years but have never been able to avail myself of the public schools in my area because of the deplorable standards of the LAUSD.

I have had to pay for a private school with no tax breaks, and also pay for summer school. I did this as a single parent with no expectation of outside help.

Maybe parents will face the harsh reality of life and only plan for as many children as they are able to take care of without expecting handouts from the government and responsible taxpayers.

Kate Robinson

Van Nuys

::

The news just keeps getting darker for public education. Now summer school is the latest fatality in an ever-growing list of vital educational programs to fall by the wayside because of California’s economic crisis.

And once again, who is affected the most? Our poor and disadvantaged. The streets of Los Angeles will be full of boys and girls with nothing to do, leaving them open to the negative influences of the streets.

Tom Iannucci

Los Angeles

The writer is assistant principal at Daniel Webster Middle School.

::

You get what you pay for -- but Californians seem to feel ordained to be exempt from that obvious, simple rule.

We want education; we must pay for it. We want good roads; we must pay for them. We want services for the needy and not so needy; we must get out our checkbooks or credit cards.

Ronald Rubin

Topanga

::

Most summer programs in the LAUSD are canceled in lieu of $34 million? That is less than the cost to make the average Hollywood film. It is less than the cost to build a jet fighter.

Many wealthy residents, including Steven Spielberg, Eli Broad and David Geffen, have certainly shown their generosity to this city. But this is the moment for all corporations and people to anonymously pony up some money to the LAUSD. The most advantaged of our community have the moral obligation to step up to the plate and not allow the already disadvantaged to slip further.

Forrest Murray

Santa Monica

::

Let’s see if I understand. The recession is hurting the state and local governments. The governor suggests closing state parks just before summer, when people are staying close to home, and he suggests reducing college grants, which hurts students trying to get an education.

And L.A. decides to stop summer school, hurting more students and putting them on the street?

Bob Tucker

Solvang