California’s higher education system; restoring the L.A. River; more problems for LAUSD

Education frustration

Re “Restoring a gem’s luster,” Editorial, Dec. 28

My wife and I are both proud graduates of Cal State universities. The state gave us a fine education, and we are now repaying this by teaching handicapped children in the public schools.

My son will graduate from community college in June, and he will then pursue his bachelor’s degree as a transfer student. Should he apply to a CSU or a UC? Sadly, my advice is “neither.” With California’s educational gold gone, I’ve told him, “Go east, young man, go east.”

Chris Ungar

Los Osos

The Times’ overview of the state’s public colleges and universities drew my interest until you stated that community colleges were “the one [sector] that should raise its fees substantially.”

Tuition is a tax on students, a perverse way to encourage the ambitious person who wishes to develop himself or herself to become a productive citizen. Is The Times unaware of or insensitive to the burden of tuition on students and their families today? Fees are so high that many students take out huge student loans.

When I began my university study at Berkeley in 1952, my first-semester fees were $37.50 -- what a value for me, my family and the state, whose children I taught for many years.

Huge tuitions at public colleges are more evidence of the state’s irresponsibility. Community colleges used to be called open-door colleges. Sure. Like a bank’s doors, always open to borrowers.

Gregg Figgins

Hemet

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The Times offers good solutions for higher education in California; however, I caution against using time limits as pressure for completing degrees. There are too many legitimate reasons for taking more than four years: working part time to pay higher costs, finding academic strengths that require changing majors, or unexpectedly having new family responsibilities. Charging extra to repeat failed courses makes better sense.

Also, high school counselors need to help students understand that the UCs are research institutions and that they should consider first going to a community college. This would dramatically cut personal and taxpayer costs for students taking general education requirements.

Community colleges are also better suited for helping students find their academic strengths and weaknesses, so they can be more committed to their majors before transferring to the costlier CSUs and UCs.

Gary Hoffman

Huntington Beach

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Re “Restoring a gem’s luster,” Editorial, and “Graffiti cleanup leaves L.A. River as blank slate,” Dec. 28

I was amazed by, and distraught over, these articles.

First I read (again) about how dire the situation is with funding at our universities. It is a disaster when young, qualified Californians are turned away from a higher education in their own state.

Then I read that we are spending more than $830,000 to paint over graffiti along the Los Angeles River. This is part of the “federal stimulus” program.

Both stories show that our government has gone off the deep end. We the taxpayers are paying a painting contractor for a job that in no time will probably be covered with graffiti anew, accomplishing nothing. At the same time, we cannot find enough money to allow many qualified young people to get a higher education.

Does anyone realize how many young people we could have educated for $830,000? Isn’t that a better “stimulus program”? I shudder to think about how many other “stimulus projects” we are wasting our money on while a more worthy investment stares us in the face. That is an embarrassment.

Scott Lorenz

La Cañada Flintridge

The LAUSD’s payroll woes

Re “$148,000 sought from 2 teachers,” Dec. 28

Payroll problems have haunted most of my colleagues at the Los Angeles Unified School District since the inception of the new system in January 2007. Apologies don’t pay bills. Someone must be held accountable.

I have been told I owed as much as $39,000 and as little as 37 cents. I have repaid money and had it returned months later. I thought I had made my last payment in December 2008. Now the district claims I owe more money. Its first audit, which I never received, was not correct.

How many times can the district claim it “made a mistake” and ask for more money? Those of us at the school site need to focus on the students, not waste time and money on a failed payroll system.

Vickie Beckwith

Los Angeles

The writer is an LAUSD employee.

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The teachers are thieves, there’s no other word for it. Rationalizing others’ carelessness or error can never justify keeping money to which one has no right.

The law is clear that the knowing acceptance of a windfall is theft. Standard law school examples include rushing in to withdraw all of one’s bank account when receiving a statement that accidentally indicated a million-dollar balance, or keeping a money-filled wallet found on the street that also contained the owner’s identity.

Nina Rose Brice

Laguna Woods

The writer is a retired Orange County prosecutor.

A lice time for all

Re “Nit-pickin’ good time,” Opinion, Dec.28

I couldn’t identify with this more.

It was about four years ago when my son, then in kindergarten in a private school, came home with an advanced case of head lice. I had it too. I started to look for the places that remove head lice for a payment.

Unfortunately, or so I thought at the time, my husband was against the idea of paying people to pick out the lice. As a child, he and his brother had had many bouts of head lice, and his mom picked them out herself. Why shouldn’t we?

I was outraged. How was I going to get all the lice out of my son’s hair, and who would get them out of mine?

Well . . . it did take a long time -- but my son, a very rambunctious boy, sat patiently as I pulled out each one and showed them to him with a magnifying glass. He found it interesting. And my husband went through my long hair gently and diligently every morning and night.

Our family made it through this experience with minimal cost and, I have to say, lovingly.

Yes, we do have a gardener and help to clean the house. But lice picking? We can do that ourselves.

Monique Kagan

Los Angeles

Where are our leaders?

Re “Resolutions for legislators,” Column, Dec. 28

There are a great many Californians (and Angelenos) complaining that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa) spend too much time away from home.

The consensus is that this detrimentally affects the quality of their leadership.

Forgotten in all this is the fact that when you lack the skill, ability and brains to govern, it really doesn’t matter where you are.

Michael E. White

Burbank