A few lessons for Villaraigosa

Re “Not when, but why,” editorial, Jan. 29

I have some suggestions for the mayor on how to improve the performance of Los Angeles Unified School District schools.

* Make sure parents with students enrolled in these schools have good-paying jobs so they can afford to provide the essentials for success -- a decent home, enough food and educational materials.

* Stop crime in the city so the kids can be safe in the schools.

* End homelessness and the problems with the mentally ill.

* End the gridlock on city streets.

* Provide free or low-cost health insurance for all residents.

* Stop all pedophiles from molesting the children.

These are just a few of the ills facing our city, and when the mayor can solve all these problems, then I will feel better about his plan to take on the district.

JACKIE HANSEN

Mission Hills

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Good luck to you, Mayor Villaraigosa. I admire your courage in taking on the district. As a young, idealistic teacher, I discovered the schools were a reflection of the community. Any fix in the educational system worked temporarily because it brought new hope to that group of teachers and families, but it was gradually wiped out by inertia in the culture. The question is how can the community come to treasure each child and create a system of support for parents who truly want to do their best to raise that child?

JUNE PAYNE

Mar Vista Family Center

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Re “Mayor Maps Plans to Run L.A. Unified,” Jan. 27

Once again L.A. has a mayor who would rather be school board president. I don’t recall Mayor Tom Bradley, who put L.A. on the international map, as being interested in running the school district. So, whether you live or work in L.A., get ready for more traffic congestion, more homelessness, more unaffordable housing, more smog, more failing infrastructure and reduced city services because Villaraigosa has new lofty goals that have nothing to do with the office he was elected to.

MARTIN OSTRYE

Arcadia