MAILBAG - Aug. 30, 2007

Unite all three school districts in Huntington

Kelly Keehn (“Parents pay thousands to avoid free education,” Aug. 23) has it exactly right.

Our public schools fail to look outside their own self-interest. The major reason parents are moving their children out of public schools is that, for each year a student remains there, he falls further behind the grade level. By the time the student graduates from high school, his scores indicate at least two grades behind. Some graduates are illiterate while others function at the elementary level. The colleges then must compel them to attend remedial classes to gain the skills needed to just take college level classes.

Let me state the facts then offer a solution. First, Huntington Beach has three school districts. That’s three different administrations each educating our children differently. Thus, students are not prepared for the next level. Schools complain of getting pupils without the prerequisite skills to function properly since they are two grade levels behind on entering middle school, while private school kids are at one or two levels above depending on the private school. Naturally, high schools simply don’t have the time to prepare our kids for colleges. Public school teachers are instructed to teach to the lowest level’s pace.

We should have one unified school district. With one administration graded on the educational skills of our kids, the goals of elementary, middle and high schools would be consistent. Having three districts is like having three different management teams trying to manufacture one product. Without common and focused direction, we cannot establish let alone achieve our goals. I suggest that the high school scorecard be the percentage of graduates who attend college. (I think everyone would agree that the most successful adults have at least some college).

A personal note to provide a clear picture: I am a product of public schools (unified district) with a college degree. I retired early at age 55 from the private sector as vice president. Of my 1962 high school class, 94% went to college. My children are also college graduates but educated in parochial schools through high school (98% classmates went to college). We selected their schools based on college prep. I urged them to send my grandchildren to private schools to help insure their ability to function in our future society. The extra $5,000 per year to private schools above the $11,000 lost to the public schools is worth the sacrifice for the future of my grandkids. The additional $5,000 would not be needed if the public schools simply changed their priorities. Finally, I recognize that I have made broad statements, and I do support kids who are not college bound but are committed to a trade school. I do not accept an idle high school grad or dropout as preparation for a fulfilled life.

ROD KUNISHIGE

Huntington Beach

Put heat on current administration

As reported in the article “Council supports health care for vets,” Aug. 23, I was a member of the other group of activists that spoke up during the public comment period at the Aug. 20 City Council meeting. Our group is requesting that the Huntington Beach City Council take a position on whether the current administration has committed high crimes against the Constitution of the United States. The other group mentioned, Operation Firing for Effect, was able to successfully pass a council resolution to back veterans’ health care.

Why does our city have to pass a resolution to take care of honorably discharged vets?

With 50% of our federal tax dollars going to the military why isn’t this a given?

We’re asking Huntington Beach to join 87 other municipalities from across the U.S. to pass a resolution to impeach President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. A city petition to impeach creates additional support for the House of Representatives to open up an investigation and hearing to determine whether the administration has broken the law of the land including leading our country into a war with Iraq based upon lies and misrepresentation of intelligence.

President Richard Nixon was threatened with impeachment not for telling lies under oath but because he mislead the American people about his administration’s involvement in the Watergate break in.

Comparing Nixon’s crime of lying about a burglary to this administration’s alleged acts of torture overseas, illegal wire taps, elimination of habeas corpus and holding citizens for years without charges is absurd.

Our council’s perceived need to vote to support veteran benefits and the same council’s refusal to place an impeachment item on the agenda is evidence American values are topsy-turvy and we are living in an Alice in Wonderland world.

LYNDA A. HERNANDEZ

Huntington Beach

Harman and colleagues are obstructionists

While Senator Tom Harman was substantially right in claiming the “two-thirds” vote requirement in passing the state budget protects the power of dissent for non-majority parties (“Two-thirds vote shields minority,” Aug. 23), he was also substantially wrong in claiming he and his Republican colleagues in the state Senate were not obstructionists.

The “obstructionists” were able to wring few extra concessions from the majority legislators that were not already under discussion and basically on the table.

This meant for weeks the GOP obstructionists played chicken with the state budget “on principle” while thousands owed money by the state suffered and sweated out this farce.

That Harman, an otherwise moderate and pragmatic politician, felt compelled to side with the obstructionists is an unfortunate testament to how much weight the GOP right wingers in the Senate have over the rest of their Republican brethren.

It is sad such cynical grandstanding by these obstructionists says more about the uncaring approach they have toward serving their state’s constituents than it does about standing up for the principles they are defending.

The “two-thirds” rule should guarantee constructive discourse and reason help resolve budget impasses instead of holding the citizens and the agencies of our state hostage.

Far from calling attention to the flaws in our budget process, the actions of the obstructionists only called attention to their flawed approach to governing.

TIM GEDDES

Huntington Beach

Be thankful for those who protect and serve

Recently, three Huntington Beach police officers dived into the ocean at 5 a.m. to save a woman from drowning (“Officers honored for saving woman from ocean,” Aug. 23).

This action is typical of the bravery that I observed by our police during my 12 years on the City Council.

The police motto is “protect and serve” and that is exactly what they do every day.

I want to emphasize this to those in our community who are first to criticize the police and rush to judgment. These knee-jerk critics don’t seem to follow an adage that my mother repeatedly preached to me: “Before you criticize, try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.”

Following that wise advice, how would any of us civilians act when a deadly weapon is pointed at us?

Would we take a long time assessing all the parameters of the situation, assuming the person with the weapon will wait until we finish our deliberations? Those who are so quick to criticize our military in Iraq should ask the same question.

Thank heavens for the police, firefighters and military who are willing to risk their lives to protect us.

We should thank them and always wait for the facts before we criticize.

Remember the bravery of the first responders on 9/11. On the coming anniversary we should pause and say a prayer of gratitude for all of them.

DAVE SULLIVAN

Huntington Beach