At last! A cultural Art Center for our community is on the
horizon.
Dear Editor,
At last! A cultural Art Center for our community is on the horizon. The Gilroy Arts Alliance has received the key to the old Salvation Army Building on the corner of Seventh and Monterey and with the city’s blessing has begun the process of transforming the building into an interim Center for the Arts. Now the work begins.
Many hands and talents are needed to make this dream come true. At one time, in a more prosperous economy, it was hoped that the city could foot the bill for this undertaking. However, economic reality says this cannot happen. If we are to achieve the dream of creating a place for the Arts in Gilroy it will take a whole village, our village. We have the land, the building, the desire and the vision. We need your hands, your time, your expertise and your donations of money and materials.
Work parties and committees are now being formed. Designs for a demonstration garden, and an outdoor performing space have been submitted. We still need to come up with a design for the interior of the building that will allow for meetings, art displays, rehearsals, performances, demonstrations, workshops, and a small gift shop. We also need to clean, paint and fix-up both the interior and exterior.
Many volunteers have already committed their time but can’t begin until specific requirements are met. Needed are the following pro bono services: a civil engineer to lay out the levels for grading the lot, an architect for the interior of the building, a landscaper to oversee the construction of the demonstration garden, an electrician for both interior and exterior requirements, and a plumber for the garden water features. Immediate donations of fencing, paint, floor polishing, and carpeting are also needed.
If you would like to get on board this grass roots endeavor contact Sylvia Myrvold at 761-2122 by Feb. 12.
Carol Harris ad Sylvia Myrvold, Gilroy
VTA and high-speed rail proponents tell us lies and more money lies
Dear Editor,
Getting our numbers wrong, again? As we have seen with the Ministry of Truth at the Valley Transportation Authority, lies, more lies, and bigger lies is what we get on public option transit. Trillions mean anything to those liars? Not if it is our money.
They don’t give a damn about lying to us.
Why on earth does the public accept that?
Joe Thompson, Gilroy
Obama’s Race to the Top education program fiscally irresponsible
Dear Editor,
As we teach our students, we strive to educate them about the logical pitfalls of demagoguery and fallacious argumentation. We acknowledge the constitutional right to opinion but persuade students from perfunctorily practicing that right.The Dispatch Editorial Board has taken on its due diligence of criticizing policies being made within its journalistic jurisdiction.
Most recently, in an article titled “Teachers Union: Roadblock on the Path to Education Reform,” the local teachers union GTA was accused of somehow hampering recent federal legislation designed to “reform” education. While the board might feel its arguments take on a hue of reality and justified critique, it is most gravely mistaken.
First, GTA’s refusal to sign the Memorandum of Understanding was not based simply on an opposition of annual evaluations or student test scores on evaluations, but rather a desire to maintain a fiscally solvent budget and to practice common fiduciary responsibility.
As student test score data is already a part of GTA teacher evaluations, that part of the argument is erroneous and should have been further researched. However, an examination of annual evaluations is a worthy topic of discussion. Teachers with tenure in the Gilroy Unified School District can already be evaluated every year according to current contractual agreements and state law. However, GUSD has not done this because it is too time consuming and the fact that there are plenty of teachers who do not need yearly evaluations due to their exemplary performance.
Unfortunately, the new federal mandate that comes with Race to the Top makes it obligatory that districts complete annual evaluations of teachers. Race to the Top would require these reforms to take place with no guaranteed revenue source for the additional cost beyond the possible one-time payment of a possible $1 million. If current practice involves evaluations every two years under current conditions, one must assume that doubling teacher evaluations would double paperwork as well as time dedicated to those evaluations.
Evaluations are no simple task, and principals being stretched as thin as they are, doubling their work load would indicate a change in labor conditions and increase in work volume. It is obvious that more administrative support would be needed to properly enact this requirement. This is where the problem arises.
With a staggering $6.3 million dollar shortfall for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, does GUSD have the monetary flexibility to sign a contract guaranteeing services rendered? Race to the Top funds might cover that expense for one year, but what about subsequent years? Both the federal government and the state of California have failed to fund almost all education mandates fully.
It is fiscally irresponsible to guarantee services with no identifiable and tangible long-term revenue source. This fiduciary shortfall is so worrisome that even Frank Pugh, president of the California School Boards Association, an association to which our own school board belongs, refused to sign the document in his own school district – Santa Rosa City Schools.
He argued that “some of the mandates – like teacher training and transportation for students moving out of underperforming schools – could spur ongoing costs to districts long after the one-time Race to the Top money is gone.”
Again, it is not fiscally responsible for GTA to support a federal program that, as Pugh states, leaves districts “holding the bag, doing more with less.”
The true roadblock of education reform is fiscal irresponsibility, something that California has practiced for far too long. A more informed process of research and forethought should have gone into the article that this rebuttal addresses. GTA had definitely done its research on the topic before making its final decision.
Paul Winslow, GTA Member
Li’l Abner a very enjoyable SVCT show with only 5 performances left
Dear Editor,
Teens participating in South Valley Civic Theater’s production of Li’l Abner have a lot to be proud of. It’s obvious how hard the 15 Gilroy and 18 Morgan Hill teens have worked to make this production a very entertaining experience for audiences.
I know the directors, Rosalind Farotte, Carol Harris and Mitzi Imagawa, and producers Jonathan Bass and Terri Miles are very proud along with the parents of these energetic and talented teens. There are five more performances – beginning this Friday, Feb 5 at 8 p.m. – at the Morgan HIll Community Playhouse in the next two weekends. I encourage the community at large to enjoy and support the teens and the live orchestra in an evening of pure fun and entertainment.
Tickets are available at the Gilroy Visitors Bureau and online at www.svct.org. They are also available at the box office one hour before curtain time.
Beth Dewey, president, South Valley Civic Theater
Graffiti on plastic anti-erosion barriers didn’t have to be shown
Dear Editor,
Shame on the Dispatch for the photo with graffiti in it on the front page of the paper recently. Couldn’t you have found a section of the levee where there was NO graffiti to take the photo? Or cleaned up the graffiti before taking the photo.
Thanks for you help in keeping Gilroy clean of graffiti by putting the picture in the paper today.
Susan M. Baker, Gilroy
Keeping the restrooms tidy at Gilroy movie house a priority
Dear Editor,
I am a manager at Platinum Theatres in Gilroy and was very disappointed to read the letter to the editor about the condition of our restrooms. We strive to keep our restrooms well maintained and clean for our sake and for our customers.
It is very possible that during a rush, where hundreds of people are attending a movie, that our restrooms might get turned upside down. We don’t always know until the rush is over when an employee goes in for an inspection.
As for Sophie’s experience; we apologize for your visit and we welcome any comments or complaints anytime you are in our theater. Sometimes we, too, need a friendly reminder.
Jennifer Halward, assistant manager, Platinum Theatres, Inc.
