By Charles Moton ? letters to the editor
Two evenings ago, a man called, asking if he could count on my support in the upcoming election for the two funding bills for education. I said, “No,” and he hung up on me without asking me why I said, “No.” The reason is quite simple. In every well-run district in California, salaries are 80-85 percent of the discretionary budget (credentialled and classified.) To vote for these two propositions means basically that voters are authorizing lower class size. Unfortunately, studies show that there is no statistically significant relationship between lower class size and learning (Check Rand studies on this subject.) So, with the $8 billion dollar deficit after the apparent budget deal in the legislature, we are asked to choose between lower class size for teachers or cuts in vision, dental, and medical care for our disabled, poor and dispossessed (who have already had these benefits cut.) How can anyone vote for smaller class size under these conditions? It would be inhumane!
Charles Moton
Lucerne
