The public trusts school board members to do their jobs

I read the Oct. 11 article regarding the looming budget deficit for our public schools ("City School Board Told of Financial Hard Times"). My growing concern over the inaction and ineffectiveness of our school board hit a new level of disappointment when I read Randall Taylor's comment: "I don't know if I can be a part of casting a vote dismantling this district as we know it. It's going to be up to the parents and the public to rescue Pittsburgh Public Schools."

Excuse me? I am not an elected member of the school board, Mr. Taylor, and it astounds me that you would have the nerve to thrust your problems on me. This is like a City Council member going public with a comment stating that we the public are the only ones who can get our proud city out of its current fiscal problems.

Mr. Taylor, you and your fellow board members have a job to do, and I think it's time you got off your high horse and started doing it.

On second thought, maybe it is the public's responsibility to fix this problem. We are the ones who elect school board members. Maybe it's time to start searching for some new faces who can accept a challenge and fix the problems rather than throw in the towel and put the burden on someone else.

Mr. Taylor, you've been a board member for a long time now. It's time to start doing your job. The public has put its trust in you. Now do your job, or the electorate will have to step in and find someone else who will.

CLINT BURTON
Brookline

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Direct connection

I would like to connect two recent issues:

1) The assessment problem. Generally, house values should rise annually (isn't that part of the reason that we invest in houses?). Freezing assessments distorts the property tax system.

2) The Pittsburgh Public Schools budget crisis. Frozen property values mean that income to the schools will not rise as fast as it should, forcing the schools to cut programs and/or raise taxes.

We need an annual assessment process that accurately reflects changes in property values; we need to fund our schools adequately to ensure achievement gains and to help retain families with school-age children in the city. These two issues are connected.

However, fixing (part of) the school district's income problem will not solve its budget woes. Here, it's important to recognize the cost of labor-intensive industries like education. Educating our children is not like producing computers, where every year technological advances mean that cost goes down while performance goes up.

We can't cut costs and improve efficiency in our school system by, for example, changing the teacher-student ratio from 1:20 to 1:30. Doing so would result in declines in achievement and be contrary to the value we place on our children's education. Nor can we deny the impact of the relentless rise in health-care costs and unfunded federal mandates.

I applaud the efforts of Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt and the school board to prune unnecessary expenses. But we, as citizens, must realize both the cost and value of providing a high-quality education and be willing to pay for the values we claim to hold.

JULIE VANNEMAN
Squirrel Hill

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No greater issue

I was so excited to see the editorial discussing Teach for America ("Teaching Corps: An Army of College Grads Helps Struggling Schools," Oct. 10). There is no greater issue for the next generation to undertake than that of education. It is the civil rights movement of the 21st century.

Although we do not place Teach for America teachers here in Pittsburgh, we have a strong alumni force of more than 30 people who have chosen to make Pittsburgh home, and some of us even work remotely for the program from Pittsburgh. Our alumni lead schools and nonprofits here in Pittsburgh and attend some of the region's best graduate programs.

We believe firmly that there must come a day when a child born into a low-income community is not any less likely to attend college or to have equal chances in life. I am inspired that the PG chose to cover our remarkable movement and remain committed to the idea of educational equity in Western Pennsylvania. I am proud to have moved back here and continue my work with Teach for America.

CATE REED
East Liberty
Editor's note: The writer is the New York City Teach for America Summer Institute director.

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Help the home front

It is time for us to take care of our own. It is time to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and use the money to help our own people.

It is time to get a handle on the huge deficit, stop tax credits for the wealthy and stop the frivolous pork-barrel spending.

Now is the time to care for and help our own.

JOAN HURLEY
Jefferson Hills

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Prize encourages us

The announcement last week that the International Atomic Energy Agency and its director, Mohamed ElBaradei, had won the Nobel Peace Prize was encouraging to organizations such as Peace Links ("U.N. Atomic Agency Wins Peace Prize," Oct. 8).

The IAEA was founded in 1957 to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and promote the safe use of nuclear technology. Peace Links was founded in 1982 to "educate the public through lectures, panels, seminars and publications about the threat of and alternatives to nuclear war. ..."

For many years groups such as Peace Links have been overshadowed, overlooked, underfunded and ignored because the nuclear issue has seemed too overwhelming. However, if the nuclear beast is not contained and controlled, nothing else that we do will matter much.

Congratulations to IAEA for making front-page news and congratulations to all organizations like Peace Links that continue to peck and hammer away at the nuclear monster. We are all winners.

JANICE AUTH
Executive Director
Peace Links
Downtown

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They're there for us

The letter "Those Serving in Our Military Make the Choice to Join" (Oct. 6) made me very angry. If these men and women did not sign on the dotted line, who would be there to protect you?

When there is talk of a draft, you hear people say they will send their children to Mexico or Canada so they won't have to go over there to be killed or hurt. Sure shows support for our military.

I praise Cindy Sheehan for wanting to confront President Bush. She seems to be the only person who has enough guts to stand up to him. You cannot imagine how hard it is on these men and women who are deployed and their families. The letter writer owes an apology to all of the men and women serving in our armed forces.

BARBARA MAY
West Homestead

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Poor, poor cronies

In response to "The Nomination of Harriet Miers Is an Insult to the Supreme Court" (Oct. 8 Charles Krauthammer column): I have had enough of the crony-bashing in your paper and other far left-wing media! Political cronies are people, too! If you prick them, do they not bleed blue? Must these people be constantly persecuted just because they are unqualified and inexperienced but happen to have strong political connections? Cronyism is a time-honored tradition throughout the world.

Some of our current leaders are proud products of cronyism. I for one applaud this administration's affirmative action policy for the unqualified and inexperienced. If our government didn't give cronies high-powered positions in the Fed, FEMA, the immigration bureau and soon in the Supreme Court, what else could these people do? Haven't they suffered enough?

Cronies of the world, unite; you have nothing to lose but your country club memberships!

JACK DOMAN
Squirrel Hill

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Gay residents have contributed immensely to our community

Regarding your Oct. 11 article "Coming Out: Many Gays Struggle With Themselves, Their Relatives and Co-Workers When Deciding to Go Public," I am disheartened that coming out is still, in this day and age, such a difficult decision for gay people to make.

We are fortunate to have many gay residents and business owners in my neighborhood. Why do I, a 51-year-old, heterosexual mother of two, use the word fortunate? Because gay members of our community are frequently found leading our area's improvement efforts, be it lending expertise for our master planning initiative, raising awareness of our unique shopping district and our artistic community, fund raising for neighborhood groups or coordinating our hugely successful house tour.

Many of us in Lawrenceville, both old and new residents alike, work hard every day to improve the quality of life here. How diminished our efforts would be without the inclusion of everyone who wants to roll up their sleeves and plunge into the work.

GLORIA FOROUZAN
Lawrenceville