OUR SCHOOLS AND THE BUREAUCRACY

“Requiem for a Last-Chance School” (by Bob Baker, Nov. 15) should persuade everyone to vote for the “parent choice” proposition when it appears on the ballot in 1993. There is no better evidence than Baker’s article that “even the best ideas (for schools) cannot overcome the bureaucracy.”

The obvious apathy, deceit, mismanagement and self-serving nature of school bureaucracies can only be eliminated if individual schools are allowed to become truly self-governing and autonomous. The only way to relieve the deadly grip of school bureaucrats on school reform is to enable all parents to send their children to schools of their choice. The “choice” proposition is the necessary first step toward that desirable goal.

PATRICK GROFF

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF LITERACY EDUCATION

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY