Letters: Splitting the education pie

Re “School funding plan at center of flap,” Feb. 25

Gov. Jerry Brown has introduced a new formula for disbursing limited funds to California’s public school districts.

The schools that score high marks get less money, while the schools that do a poor job of educating their students get more money.

I cannot think of a more disturbing trend in public education than the ongoing waste of taxpayer dollars to schools that cannot balance their budgets, yet expect students to add and subtract, read and write, and make the grade.

Perhaps Brown should look up the word “fair” before he implements policies according to that nebulous term.

As George Orwell might have put it: “All schools receive fair treatment. Just some are more fair than others.”

Why not encourage the high-performing schools to do poorly, so that they could get more money? It seems only fair.

Arthur C. Schaper
Torrance

I am a retired inner-city schoolteacher who has traveled the world rather inexpensively; I volunteer two days a week in our community; and I have lived in a time in which my husband and I could raise a child, pay for him to graduate from college and for him to give back to making this a better world.

Ask educators what works and you will be surprised how teachers make such a huge difference — not politicians who know nothing about education.

So how many millions of dollars do you need? Yet we demonize teachers and unions and blame them for this mess.

Dee White
Capistrano Beach

Why stop with education? This shifting of funding can be applied to elected officials. The longer an elected official has served in government, the more he/she knows about the process. This leaves those with little government experience at a disadvantage.

Here’s an idea: Simply base legislators’ budgets and staffing on length of government service and on personal wealth.

Those who have little experience will receive a higher budget and more staff. Those with greater knowledge of the system can either use personal resources to fill the gap or can seek additional funding from their districts. Good idea?

Mitchell Lane
Shadow Hills

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