Re “Welcome to a Grizzly World I Know Too Well”
One thing you can count on when you read a Gary Abrams letter. He never will let the facts get in the way of his writing. If they do, he will re-envision it his own way!
You don’t have to read very long before arriving at his first exaggeration. At the end of his first paragraph, he says 70 percent of our Title One students are receiving subsidized lunches. If only that were true.
The facts are below:
School Name |
October 2012 Percent of Students Eligible for Free/Reduce Priced Meals |
La Ballona Elementary |
64.03 |
El Rincon Elementary |
47.04 |
Linwood E. Howe Elementary |
43.45 |
Culver City Middle |
41.3 |
Culver City High |
36.95 |
Culver Park High |
30 |
Farragut Elementary |
22.5 |
El Marino Elementary |
14.51 |
Not even close to the 70 percent he states. If we were, we would be getting much more money from our state’s Local Control Funding Formula instead of having funding taken from us and given to low-performing schools throughout the state.
Soap Box Derby
He thought the School Board dais would be a perfect platform for espousing his opinions. He forgot to mention the last time he ran for the Board in 2011 only 129 out of over 3800 voters agreed with him.
Not Only Accused …
The second revised fact shows up in the next paragraph. He says I accused him of plagiarism. He conveniently left out that not only did I call him out on it, but produced the email exchange in question and proved it.
… in the Windmills of His Mind
Later, he brings back the insidious “political machine” that, together, he and Mr. Z (Robert Zirgulis) have struggled against, to no avail. Is this the old Silbiger Machine? Or an altogether new political giant? Or is it the old machine under a new guise?
To me, it looks as if he is imagining more political windmills.
Dream On …
It is safe to say there never will be a fact that will stand in the way of Gary Abrams as he sets out to form one of his own unique opinions about our local community.
It’s been said that the winners write history. Gary, shouldn’t you win before you re-write history?
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com