First of all I cannot believe that someone would think that open enrollment in the Seattle School District is anything other than a cover up of just plain stupidity. In everyone's dream world everything is fair and equal. Yet in reality nothing is.

With all the money that has been spent in transporting students to, "better," schools; absolutely nothing has been accomplished except more bad schools and less education for all the students. If all those involved would be honest how else can they explain decreasing graduation rates and test scores. Yes, declining test scores despite all the standards being lessened.

On the security side for students district wide this has also been a disaster. It puts more students in touch with more students. On the surface that is good, they learn to get along; so the argument goes.

The reality is that nothing could be more further from the truth. With the mobility of students (what an irony; we transport but!) cell phones and increased interaction we seem to get nothing but less safe schools and neighborhoods. If you don't believe that let's start opening up the police blotter and school records about discipline. Yes, I understand privacy issues; no one talks reality; which is safety. Or more correctly, corrupt individuals in places of influence who are unable to deal with real issues other than their own.

This has been a disaster. With all the money spent on transportation every year, I would suggest that one, maybe even two schools, every year, could have been transformed into the best in the nation.

This comment column "Halt the free rides" (editorial, Oct. 4) misses the whole point of the absolute stupidity of open enrollment. It suggests that parents foot the bill of their child's desire to go to another school outside their neighborhood or vote with their feet and move outside the school district. Yes, I agree but I would suggest that this is the problem.

The Seattle School district is not the neighborhood district. If you don't like the schools in your neighborhood vote with your own damn feet and move to a neighborhood that you like and pay for it. In other words stop living cheaply, stop free loading and cherry picking and pull your own damn weight right here in Seattle.

It's time all the people in charge stopped trying to stay in charge and actually started being in charge.

Robin Larson

Admiral