Acorn editorial praised for telling it like it is
      I want to congratulate the Acorn on its March 26 editorial ("People who can, should buy things"). That's exactly what we all need to do- - go out and spend some money and on local businesses, too, and not wait for the government to waste more of our tax dollars on halfbaked social programs that will supposedly solve our financial woes.
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Dollars and sense don't always 'add up' in education
      The column from Conejo Valley Unified School Superintendent Mario Contini in your March 19 issue blames the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 for the funding problems we now face in our school system. Contini states that funding per pupil has steadily declined in California since the passage of Prop. 13, when adjusted for the cost of living.
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Don't blame Prop. 13 for failures in public education
      Superintendent Mario Contini's March 19 column infers the state's school funding crisis is exacerbated by Proposition 13. If not for Prop. 13, our state legislators would have driven thousands of people of modest means from their houses years ago by indiscriminately increasing the property tax.
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We're not getting the most for our money in education
      Memo to Superintendent Mario Contini: It's not all about money. Because while California's teachers enjoy the highest average salaries in the nation, they produce a dropout rate that approaches 50 percent in L.A. County alone!
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The teachers union is disserving the state's taxpayers
      I enjoyed the letters about teachers, especially how the newer teachers are getting pink slips. I agree, pink slips should go to low-performing or complacent teachers. I especially liked the letter from the teacher about what a tough job it is, working afterschool, etc.
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Education has changed radically in 75 years
      Welcome to first grade in the 1930s in Massachusetts: We walked to school by 9 a.m. through sometimes horrible weather. We walked back home for lunch and returned by 1 p.m. and were released at 3:30.
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Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County
      It would be great to clear up the apparent confusion regarding the boundaries between the cities of Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Many people who may believe they live in Westlake Village (pop. about 9,000) actually reside within the city of Thousand Oaks (pop. about 127,000).
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The city and park district can both save tax dollars
      The Thousand Oaks City Council is prepared to grant $5 million to Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) toward the development of a community park, which may be better described as a grandiose regional sports complex, featuring four to six lighted Little League fields.
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Drug users cause murders they don't know about
      Who killed that 5-year-old Mexican child recently kidnapped by drug dealers and murdered by injecting acid into him because his poor parents couldn't come up with a $500 ransom? You did, if you use, buy or sell illegal drugs, you're as much a murderer as anyone in the vicious drug cartels.
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