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The board ignored the public
I have had the opportunity to speak to many Washington School District residents concerning the school board's decision to move the middle school students. The consensus was overwhelming against the move. I, like many other residents. expressed this view to the board and was perplexed to find the 7-2 vote to move this agenda forward. The law requires that school boards provide time during official meetings for district residents to comment on matters before the board takes action. The board did provide time to hear comments on this matter, but the comments didn't matter. A very important question was asked but never answered. How will this move improve student test scores?
We make decisions for our children when they are young because we know what's best for them. The Washington School Board has taken that same attitude with the residents. You may have elected us, but we know what's best for you.
It has become far too common for these boards and other governing bodies to reject public will. In a true democracy public will should become policy. But we are living in a time when policy is dictated by those we entrusted to look out for our best interest.
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We must equip our boards and superintendents with the tools to empower our teachers and administrators to do the very important business of increasing student achievement. But it must be collaboration between the people and the school boards. Failure to recognize this is a step in the wrong direction and perhaps unconstitutional.
Dean Ellis
Canton Township
Tourism projects
approved jointly
I was disappointed by the letter from the Heavners of Scenery Hill who wrote to chastise me for interfering with a "supposedly independent board."
I don't want to ruin anyone's fun but it seems like a good time to quote a line or two from the agreement signed between the Board of Commissioners and the Tourism Promotion Agency on July 19, 2001. Paragraph 7 reads: "The Board of Commissioners and the TPA shall jointly approve all projects...that...meet requirements of the Hotel Room Tax Ordinance..." the key phrase here is "jointly approve."
So, the commissioners enacted a tax and gave the money to the TPA with the understanding that we would jointly approve its spending. In the eight years since the tax was enacted, it is safe to say that millions of dollars have been spent and hundreds of programs approved. Twice, in all that time and through all those allocations, the commissioners have suggested a project we felt should be funded twice. How heavy-handed is that?
Bracken Burns
Washington County commissioner
Pirates can do it
I have a dream of making Pittsburgh the undisputedly greatest sports city in America for 2009. Now that the Penguins have won the Stanley Cup and the Steelers have the Super Bowl, all we need is for the Pirates to win the World Series and Pittsburgh will have won three out of four of the major American sports championships. The Pirates can do this is they have the city behind them. Pittsburgh fans everywhere need to set aside the pessimistic attitude toward the Pirates and cheer them on to victory.
Donnie Hanning
Washington
City of Champions : 6/21/2009
I'm not holding my breath, but it would be awesome if the Pirates could pull it off. Only one city has ever won 3 major sporting championships in one year. Los Angeles in 2002 won the NBA, WNBA, and MLS championships. Hardly compares to the trifecta of NHL, NFL, and MLB in my opinion. Maybe it's the incentive the Pirates need to do something!
Pirates Can Do It : 6/21/2009
It has been almost 20 years of rebuilding and we see only the results of a business making money and providing a less than honest product. If the current majority owner (same owner of 7 Springs Resorts and Ogden Publishing) desired to put a pennant contender on the field, he can do it. Every time a player gets to become a valuable commodity, the organization will trade such player and his soon to be large contract for two or three prospects. One year, the starting pitchers of the All-Star Game were former Pirates that were traded to both leagues. How would you like to have the three outfielders by the names of Xavier Nady, Nate McClouth and Jason Bay? All traded in the last few years. Jason Bay currently has almost as many homers if not more than the total Pirate ball club. The only way to stop this from continuing is to stop going to the games. Boycott them so that only their TV revenues and the revenue sharing from the major market clubs will be their only income. That is still more than the salaries of the players currently. Then and ONLY THEN, will the Pirates be a contender once again. To win a race, you need the combination of the right horse, trainer and rider. Once we get the players and have the guts to keep them, then we will be a contender. Until then, people are just being hustled out of their hard earned money by the Pirate owners.
Doubtful : 6/22/2009
The owners care more about making money than winning the world series. Until that changes, we have no chance. Just my opinion, of course, but it seems to be the general consensus.
Board ignored the public : 6/22/2009
A few hundred people in a room does not a majority make. The Board members voted as they saw fit. If the residents are unhappy with the way the Board votes, every two years they have the opportunity to replace current Board members with individuals who lean more toward the resident's ways of thinking. It's called democracy.
Washington civics education failed Ellis : 6/23/2009
Our form of government, representative democracy, does not insist that public opinion becomes public policy. While I vehemently disagree with the WSB's decision to spend that kind of money on that project, they responsible for making those decisions. The members are elected, not to do what the people tell them, but to do what needs to be done, even if unpopular. They determined that this was what needed to be done. I'm reminded of a line from the movie "American President"--late in the film, President Andrew Shepherd tells the gathered media masses that he had been so busy trying to keep his job that he forgot to do his job. If only more elected officials in this representative democracy recognized this failing in their own work. And, if more members of the general public realized that what Ross Perot proposed is unconstitutional. We elect representatives to lead. If we do not like their leading, we can vote them out.
