CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS: For Don and Karen Christopher who have given back to the community tremendously twice in the last year, and the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association. The Christopher’s $1.25 million donation will fund the lion’s share of the Gilroy Arts Center and soon-to-be Don Christopher Theater within that complex. The Garlic Festival, meanwhile, pledged $250,000 to the project. Generosity like that sustains and nourishes our community. For years to come, the gifts will pay rich dividends for many Gilroyans. Thank you to the Christophers and the Garlic Festival for setting such a generous standard for our community.
JEERS: For the unpredictable funding for California’s public schools. The problem is simple: the state, not the local entity, controls the purse strings. The farther the money gets from the taxpayer, the less accountability and stability there is. Gov. Schwarzenegger’s ideas about shifting pension responsibilities back to the local districts makes sense – but not in a vacuum. Money that’s restricted and mandates that aren’t funded are par for the state course. With the state playing a continual game of budget cat-and-mouse with schools, it’s a wonder districts even function. Sweeping reforms that should are needed. Until that happens the mess will get worse and our public schools will continue to swim against the tide.
CHEERS: For the generous locals who have opened their wallet to help the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. It’s an epic tragedy that will take years to repair. Please keep that in mind.
JEERS: For another winter storm which is probably raging outside as Dispatch readers are perusing this edition. Weather forecasters have called for another storm to drench, batter and generally destroy all hopes of a weekend outdoors. Though we’d rather endure the cold, windy and rainy days during the winter months, a little longer break to recover from last week’s storm certainly isn’t too much to ask.
