Editor -- Regarding your editorial dated January 3, I became very
upset at your ``Promises to Keep'' for Gray Davis and how shallow some
of them were.

Ensuring ``that every child to read by third grade?'' Why not ensure
that every child read at their grade level at the end of all grades up
to through 12th grade? Perhaps your suggestion is why we get ninth
graders who can't read past third- and fourth-grade levels.

Why should high schools pay for remedial instruction for their
graduates? If the elementary schools had 20 to 25 students in all
academic classes up through the eighth grade, and the homes encouraged
their children and backed the schools, students would have a better
attitude toward learning by the time they got to high school and would
not need remedial classes.

Ideally, no high school should have over 1,000 students in order to
create a safe and positive learning environment. Perhaps Mr. Davis
should work toward this.

Concerning prisons -- why doesn't the state use those abandoned
military bases as drug rehab centers? Aren't most of our criminals
involved with drugs? Why don't we work toward solving the problem and
reason they got in trouble in the first place?

``Counseling for juvenile drug dealers?'' How about education and jobs
for juveniles who probably dropped out to sell drugs. They need to
feel better about themselves. Education and jobs certainly help.

GERRY GREEN
Chowchilla