New blood needed on school board My...

New blood needed on school board

My experience on the Bond Oversight Committee during its first

four years showed that incumbent school board members were not

interested in the committee actually doing anything other than

listening to and agreeing with reports that everything was going

great. It came out in committee meetings several years ago, at my

urging for real numbers on bond expenditures, that the previous (now

discredited) district business manager had a fouled-up accounting

system. Board members never responded to my concerns about getting

real financial reports, criticized my actually visiting a

construction site, and then decided my continuity in “overseeing”

through a second four-year term was not necessary. To this day, there

has been no public disclosure of how much local bond money has

actually been spent. On top of their failure at forthrightness at the

time of Supt. David Aponik’s dismissal, I am convinced that new

blood, not continuity, is needed on the school board.

MEL WOLF

Burbank

New members would be refreshing

Education in Burbank is woefully underfunded, and the money that

is available is poorly allocated. Teachers earn meager salaries and

classrooms are overcrowded. Some schools are decaying while others

lack the modern technology that is essential in the learning process.

Some classrooms even lack textbooks. These are the reasons why we

need new leadership.

I feel that new leadership should be Paul Krekorian, Dave Kemp and

Larry Applebaum for the Burbank school board.

It is inspiring to see so many parents, educators, business people

and community leaders express a desire to serve on the board. These

open positions are critical. The people elected should be passionate

about education, their commitment to students and the strong role our

teachers play in the process. Those elected should complement, not

compete with, the two current board members.

I have great faith in the process and the integrity of the people

of Burbank. I know they will do the right thing and get out and vote

on Tuesday.

With new leadership on the board, I feel it will make our schools

a place we can all be proud of. We owe it to our children and

grandchildren to make these schools the best they can be.

LEE PAYSINGER

Burbank

Voters should take back their schools

As a parent, I’m sick and tired of being ignored by our

condescending school board members. This board seems to think it

personally owns our schools. Well, here’s a news flash -- the people

of Burbank own the schools, and it’s time we take them back.

In this election, we should support parent candidates like Lynne

Gerred, Paul Krekorian and Roland Armstorff who have been active in

supporting their children’s schools. They know what we want in our

kids’ education, and they’ll actually listen to us.

MARGARET WILSON

Burbank