Long Island debates school costs, again

Regarding "LI schools' taxing time" [News, April 17]: I find it disgusting that any school district on Long Island would increase the amount of taxes we pay, when taxpayers face layoffs and an unsettled economy. In my school districts -- you read correctly, we have two in North Bellmore -- they had better propose layoffs of administrators before they think about getting my affirmed vote of passage.

The North Bellmore elementary school district has three full-time assistants to the superintendent, and then we have a separate superintendent for the high school district.

Our schools look like they are in disrepair and uninhabited, yet the budget needlessly maintains a bloated administrative staff. And we are told that it's for the children.

It's not for the children when their school district looks dilapidated and our taxes increase, beyond what's reasonable and affordable for the taxpayers.

Greg Bashaw, North Bellmore
 

In response to "Teachers union forgets solidarity" [Letters, April 17]: Our district made a lot of concessions last year, including a salary freeze and deferment in the name of saving jobs. It really did not help, because we are again faced with the same dilemma.

If we continue to make concessions, paying into a union will become futile and will not help those whose jobs we are "saving." Why would they want to pay into a union that constantly makes concessions and consents to salary manipulations? Would the letter writer complain if the government wrote to you and said that they want you to take a deferment in your retirement benefits because they want to "save" jobs? I believe you would.

For the sake of solidarity, I want to protect the sanctity of union benefits for my contemporaries. Our government must look for other avenues to cut corners, starting with their own salaries. They are the ones who mismanaged spending, corporation tax revenues and the stock market. If we continue on the course of making concessions, we will end up in the same situation as past generations, starting their careers with no benefits, bad working conditions and low wages.

Mary K. Judge, Islip
 

I am writing in response to the letter "How to grade teachers?" [April 14]. The writer suggests that teachers be graded by parents in an attempt to evaluate teacher performance. He further suggests that teachers too often "teach topics that have no purpose in today's world, and give homework assignments that neither teach nor inspire."

As an elementary schoolteacher for the past 16 years, I have always tried to infuse creativity as I teach the New York State-mandated curriculum.

I wonder how well-versed this writer is in this ever-changing curriculum, and what makes him such an expert that he deserves to have an opinion on the topics that I teach in my classroom. I also wonder how one might evaluate the environment in my classroom to see if it's "conducive to learning," when that person may never have even stepped foot inside of it.

In addition, he mentions that maybe teachers can "resolve" the problem of bullying as well. As much as I do and have addressed this very global issue, I'm thinking that maybe teachers should be qualified to solve the country's deficit, world hunger, job loss and the housing market collapse? And let me add, if we are expected to do all this, we certainly should be well compensated for it!

Melinda Safrany, East Moriches