Letters: Parents have the right to evaluate school curriculum

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Parents have right
to evaluate curriculum

Re: “Let’s leave history curriculum to educators” (Page A6, March 21).

Letting education professionals decide the content, depth of subjects and how the subjects are taught is fraught with problems that require serious consideration.

Regarding Proposition 28 funding meant to expand arts and music education, “LAUSD has willfully and knowingly violated the law,” said former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner, “harming … students by depriving them of the arts education that they are entitled to under law.” California law guarantees parents the right to review their children’s curriculum, but the Palo Alto Unified School District has repeatedly violated multiple Public Records Act requests for ethnic studies curriculum and instructional materials.

Parents rightly deserve equal authority to determine the content and depth of curriculum for which they pay through their taxes, and to effectively monitor those to whom they entrust the education of their children.

Julia Lutch
Davis

Prop. 13 reform
would rescue schools

Re: “Cities and schools facing big deficits and few good options” (Page A8, March 16).

With California facing major deficits across the state, an overlooked solution to this problem is reforming Proposition 13 to tax corporations fairly. Billions of dollars worth of state revenue have been lost from Proposition 13 each year, much to the benefit of CEOs and the private sector. Why are schools and essential public services getting routinely targeted for cuts while large businesses turning billions in profit turn a blind eye?

Corporations exploit property tax loopholes that take funding away from local governments and school districts. At the same time, politicians rail against government “overspending” and seek revenue solutions like layoffs, school closures and tax hikes that hurt everyday Californians.

This back and forth has gone on for too long, and we’ve had enough. With worsening deficits, it’s time to revisit Proposition 13 reform and provide long-term solutions before more cuts harm working families.

X Vazquez
Berkeley

Opposing Israeli war
is not antisemitic

There is no doubt that antisemitism should be condemned.

But as a Jew, it seems to me and thousands of other Jews, that the conflation of being “antisemitic” with being critical of Israel has made the call to Oakland (or Columbia University, UCLA or others) hollow unless it is accompanied by a condemnation of Israel’s genocide and our country’s support for it.

Hatred for Jews here and abroad is only fanned by the insistence of Israel and Donald Trump that objections to Israel’s mass killing, torturing and starving Palestinians are antisemitic.

By the way, though the trashing of the menorah is reprehensible, I bike around Lake Merritt every day and have yet to see one piece of anti-Jewish (versus anti-Israel) graffiti nor observed or experienced any anti-Jewish behavior.

David Weintraub
Oakland

Kids’ letter campaign
could bolster Dems

There has been much discussion about the lack of leadership and action from the Democratic Party since the continuing resolution was passed this month. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, followed the passage with promises to “fight on.” Well, I have the solution for Democratic Party leaders: Focus on an issue.

I am calling for the leaders of the Democratic Party to launch a kid letter-writing campaign to restore the Department of Education and hire a qualified secretary to lead the agency.

Just think of the powerful national message calling on all children of all ages to write a personal letter to President Trump to support their learning opportunities across the nation. Bring it all, bright lights, media, a motivating speech to children to take charge of their learning and make the government work with them. After all, education is their future.

Robert Celeste
Fremont

Lies and chaos
threaten democracy

Donald Trump, our real-world Voldemort, “king” of destruction, chaos and suffering, must really hate this country. His arrogant delusions compel him to try to burn it down while insulting the whole world. He is toxic American capitalism personified, gutting and dismantling institutions vital to our middle class, children, the working poor, our elderly, disabled, and all of us except his patrons, the 1%.

Trump counts on the Fox brainwashing conglomerate to keep his base happily voting against their own best interests — bye-bye Medicaid. Are we the people going to tolerate this? How about education? We have too many voters who lack basic awareness about how our government should work for all of our society.

Thomas Jefferson said, “Wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government.” Is that even possible today with all the noise and distortion? We can’t wait until the elections.

Marilynn Gray-Raine
Danville