Summit on Education

The summit on education presided by President Bush and the states’ governors was a waste of time because the ultimate power to reform our schools does not lie with the federal or state governments, but with the 15,000 independent school districts throughout the country (Part I, Sept. 29).

School board members usually are business people, politicians and those who like to attend free luncheons, dinners and parties. In short, school board members are not educators!

If board members were educators, they would focus on academic achievement instead of competitive sports, fund-raising schemes and the plethora of carnival activities that temporarily distract students and their parents from the fact that our school system is one of the worst in the world.

If board members were educators, they would assign the hordes of administrators and their assistants, consultants and resource teachers to teach at least one class per semester.

If school boards cared about quality teaching, they would adopt a single pay scale for both teachers and administrators, so as not to lure good teachers out of the classroom because of higher salaries.

While teachers tell students that the First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees all Americans the right of free speech, they themselves are punished if they speak publicly against bureaucratic authority. A case in point is the group of teachers who anonymously reported to our community task force, of which I am the secretary, that when they criticize their administrators, they suffer reprisals, such as involuntary transfers to other schools, inappropriate teaching assignments or the loss of a potential promotion.

There are no checks and balances for school boards; they maintain an absolute dictatorship until they are either recalled or voted out of office!

GILBERT A. RUBIO

Arcadia