|
In This Issue...
|
POSTMARKED
Support for Alejo and Previtali
A very nice try (but no cigar) on the part of your paper to demonize Luis Alejo and Sylvia Previtali, community members who live in â€" and keep an eye on â€" the PVUSD. In her Feb. 5 article, Linda Fridy accuses the two of being watchdogs cum nuisances and costly ones at that. A nuisance for whom one must ask.
From my vantage point as a classroom teacher in the PVUSD, these two are priceless. I’d be a more active watchdog myself if I were not so heavily engaged trying to make sense of a job I once knew well. Others are busy AND too fearful to publicly detail how, due to ill-conceived District policies, we are NOT meeting the needs of many students.
Fridy says the two have cost the District $33,500 in legal fees in the last 5 years then goes on to hold them accountable for the additional $38,000 the District chose to spend on an outside rebuttal to the Grand Jury investigation. I was at the Board meeting when Doug Keegan estimated the rebuttal would cost $6,000 to $8,000 and I was at the later meeting when he said, “oops” after the actual bill came in. Mr. Alejo and Ms. Previtali do not have the power to call a Grand Jury investigation, so please retract the blame for THAT $38,000.
I gladly throw my taxpayer nickel behind Alejo and Previtali for the unpaid service they are doing for the community.
The best line in Fridy’s article heavily insinuated they have no right at all to watch our public officials since they “lack any specific involvement with the district.” How a community educates its children impacts the quality of life for everyone in the community. It is everyone’s business to be concerned with the education of all of our community’s children. I applaud Previtali for not turning her back on PVUSD students after retirement. Alejo, despite his own success, is very aware of the paltry number of Latino high school graduates here and chooses to do what he feels is necessary to turn that around. Both are involved despite no direct personal gain.
If your concern really is misspent money, I challenge the Mid-county Post to investigate and publish how much the District has paid for consulting in the last 5 years. I know in one case my school had no choice but to pay $2000/day for 4 days of SAIT required “coaching” that I assure you had very little impact on student achievement. How much have we paid consultants Chris Chatfield and Norm Gold to deliver their dismal analysis of PVUSD services to English Language Learners?
An apology is in order from the Post for suggesting that these two strong community voices are nothing more than outside agitators. Making scapegoats of Alejo and Previtali smells like an attempt to corral and silence the voice of the broader community.
Barbara Crum
Teacher, PVUSD
Linda Fridy Article Appreciated
Thanks for the Feb. 5th Linda Fridy article "How Much Are Watchdogs Costing Pajaro District's Schools?" The upsurge of criticism from a small group of local progressives began immediately after the Nov. 2006 election.
That vote changed the school board majority from union-backed activists to trustees supported by the wider Pajaro Valley community, and focused more tightly on educational excellence.
The lingering impression is one of electoral sore-losers, diehard bilingual program defenders, and other malcontents upset by losing their leverage with the board.
Your Feb. 5 issue also covered the $180,000 upper salary set for the Pajaro District's search for a new superintendent. The usual chorus of critics has already complained of the high salary level; but they should hold a mirror to their faces, for their own constant attacks against district administration was undoubtedly factored into the salary increase.
After all, who would want to take the job and predictable floggings now, other than a crony of the critics who could expect kinder treatment?
Steve Bankhead
Watsonville
A Bit More on Lyme Disease
Thank you so much for your articles on Lyme disease and preventing tick bites. There are several points not mentioned in the article which are important.
The first is that not all patients with Lyme present with the tell tale rash. Second, blood tests are not always a reliable source of diagnosis.
There are studies in the medical literature that document negative blood tests in otherwise confirmed Lyme cases.
Finally, ticks can convey more than simply Lyme disease. Babesiosis, Bartonella, Erlichiosis, among others, can also be transmitted via a tick bite, and for some unfortunate individuals, they may be infected with the Lyme bacteria and one or more of these other infections.
Lyme and its associated infections are very serious illnesses, and need to be treated aggressively as soon as possible. For more information on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, go to www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.org
Amanda Bern
Santa Cruz
|
