Long Beach letters

School board discourages participation

To the Editor:

The Long Beach Board of Education is doing its part to make sure that their families are fully employed at taxpayers’ expense.

At the March 9 meeting, one trustee, for the third time since she was elected, had a member of her family up for employment with the district. Not only was her daughter on the agenda, but her niece was also, making a total of four relatives appointed to district jobs in the eight months since she's been on the board.

While there’s no indication that this trustee’s relatives won’t do their jobs, the perception that the district is a trough for the friends and relatives of the trustees to drink from is one that the last few board worked hard to eliminate.

Coincidently, at the same meeting, the superintendent’s proposed 2010-11 budget showed an increase in costs of instruction — almost all attributed to salaries — of almost $3 million. In fairness, the budget has a modest increase that continues the downward spiral in increases that this superintendent is known for. However, the multi-million-dollar rise in the cost of instruction, despite the declining cost of living and enrollment, speaks more of the generosity this district shows its employees than the concern it shows for its other constituents. In order to fund this $3 million rise with only a $1.8 million increase in the budget, money has to be taken away from other programs or from savings set aside for emergency contingencies. Such moves are never a good indicator for one’s fiscal or educational future.

What’s more disturbing is that, when a member of the public continued to question the board about the budget, the board president decided that that person had spoken long enough and asked her to leave the podium. When she continued, the board president walked out of the meeting, leaving the audience to cool its heels for 30 minutes. On returning, she announced that the board is changing policy to limit all future public discussion on agenda items. Although the board continually claims it wants the public to attend meetings, to treat people who give up their evenings with such disdain does nothing to encourage future attendance.

While being a board member may be a thankless job, we must remember that if you volunteer to do that job, your constituency is the entire public, including those having trouble finding jobs and paying their bills. Watching board trusetees hire their family and friends while residents struggle to pay their mortgages surely doesn’t help encourage public confidence or trust.

Roy Lester

Long Beach

Lester is a former school board trustee

Cat photo was misleading

To the Editor:

Last week's story “Animal warden cited in complaint” (March 11-17) prominently displayed a picture of a cat that would lead readers to believe that the picture is of the actual cat that is the subject of the article, which is misleading.

Furthermore the story neglects to mention that this was a feral cat, which by law is considered to be a wild animal. If Google "feral cats" it defines them as follows: Feral cats are descended from domestic cats but are born and live without human contact." There is also a characteristic picture that as you can see is quite different from the one in the article.

Charles Theofan

City manager

Editor’s note: The photo that accompanied last week’s story, of a healthy cat at the Freeport Animal Shelter, was chosen by mistake. The Herald regrets the error.