Separate and unequal
By Scott Phelps 04/01/2010
The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, headed by private school parent Paul Little, has demonstrated its vast knowledge of school finance by supporting economist Ross Selvidge’s conclusion that the PUSD school libraries are unnecessary. And PUSD’s reasonable class sizes in K-3 and ninth-grade … all unnecessary. Only public school students in La Cañada Flintridge, South Pasadena, San Marino and Arcadia need libraries and smaller class sizes, Ross seemed to say. These benefits should only go to “certain” people (wink, wink). Those that can pay for them with much larger parcel taxes like South Pasadena’s, San Marino’s or La Cañada Flintridge’s, or large voluntary contributions that San Marino and Arcadia are now asking parents to make up for the state funding cuts.
Pasadena is fortunate to have such wise counsel from its business leaders. They have made sure Pasadena remains a community of haves and the have nots. Thank goodness we have them around to make sure that schools in the area are separate and unequal. That way they can rightfully look down on the Pasadena public schools, with their preponderance of Latinos and poorer families, and help them all feel better about choosing private schools, or obtaining permits to go to the surrounding districts, where there are chambers of commerce that rightfully support their “purer” schools.
First, those in the community nonprofit world who are members of the Chamber, those who work with the community that is in the public schools, let them leave the Chamber to ensure that its purity is not tainted by nonprofit money or nonprofit presence. Second, we who have our children in PUSD schools, let’s not contaminate the Chamber businesses with our money. Do not contaminate their incomes with the money of public school parents.
Please help support the Chamber’s and Mr. Selvidge’s effort to keep our schools separate and unequal.
Scott Phelps is a member of the Pasadena Board of Education.
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What an idiot. Phelps is the worst of the bottom feeders profiting from PUSD's failures.
The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce wants to know how they'll spend the money before rubber stamping another attempt by PUSD to pick our pockets. Finally somebody with some sense speaks up.
NO ON CC! Yes on accountability. NO ON PHELPS and his PUSD cronies!
Dormitas