Debate Over School Reforms

* Re “School Reforms Face Long Road to Classroom,” March 29: Instead of wasting more tax money with an intensive summer reading program for 250,000 students, I respectfully submit the following no-cost-to-the-taxpayer reforms to our governor, state Legislature and to all school superintendents:

1. Cancel all entertainment frills until students are reading at their grade level.

2. Cancel all fund-raisers. It is unconscionable to ask students to sell tons of candy bars when they should be studying, then waste more tax money on an intensive summer reading program.

3. Recommend to parents to disconnect TV sets on school nights for four hours so their children can do homework and they themselves can read a book.

4. Last but not least, extend the definition of “school spirit” to include academic excellence.

GILBERT A. RUBIO

San Diego

* Re “L.A. District’s Class of 2003 Faces Stricter Graduation Requirements,” March 31: If students are failing the current requirements, how can one realistically expect them to pass “stricter” ones? Should college prep courses be the only curriculum, or should we perhaps provide a parallel non-college prep curriculum?

Simply adding more rigor to an irrelevant curriculum will not obtain the desired results.

CHARLES W. BUCKMAN

Lancaster

* Randy Weiner and Tamara Schurdak (Opinion, March 28) have an interesting idea about having the parents govern their kids’ schools, making decisions about how to spend money. But first let us consider the parent demographics of who will have time to invest in all these school site meetings. Will it be the best and brightest?

WILLIAM L. CAPPS

Torrance