There has been much discussion regarding the parking issue near the Blue Pheasant. During the daytime, there appears to be adequate parking places for the restaurant patrons and the golfers, however, the parking problem starts on Friday and Saturday night between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

I personally like having the Blue Pheasant as a neighbor located where it is, and I want the owner of the facility to make a reasonable profit and stay in business.

Currently, the City of Cupertino has a lawsuit against the Blue Pheasant owner for violation of his lease by staying open beyond the 11 p.m. agreement. If there were adequate parking near the Blue Pheasant without having to use Phar Lap Drive for the late night overflow then everyone would be a winner. The owner makes a profit, the Oakdell Homeowners are not disturbed by the late night noise, and the city attorney would not have to sue the Blue Pheasant for violation of the lease's closing time. In addition, those ugly restricted parking signs in the residential Oakdell Ranch area could be removed.

On the other hand, if the number of patrons on the weekend nights is exceeding the maximum headcount posted by law in the building, then that should be enforced by the proper authorities. It appears that the code for parking spaces ratio to patrons in the facility for a "restaurant" is adequate. However, I would expect the ratio of parking places to patrons for a nightclub/cocktail lounge be different than a restaurant, as more single people in one car would patronize the nightclub as opposed to families who would eat in the restaurant.

If the city would increase the parking spaces now to handle the late night crowd, we can also solve the parking issue for later when the Stevens Creek Trail comes alive.

Pete Kramer

Cupertino

Threatening letters no joke to school parents

In his Feb. 9 letter to the Cupertino Courier Gordon Frolich says "The Hannity & Colmes" program is not a conservative show, nor is it a talk show." He is absolutely right. It is an entertainment show. It has no news content.

Frolich also claims that the likelihood of anyone walking in with an AK-47, instead of sending a threatening message, is far less than George Soros visiting the school to hand out thousand dollar bills to the faculty and students.

Perhaps Frolich is trying to be funny, but this is not funny for those who have kids at the school.

The frame of mind of people who send threatening messages to a school full of kids and teachers may not be as far as he thinks from those who would walk in with an AK-47. Or, perhaps Frolich thinks it is acceptable for people to send threatening messages to a school full of the most defenseless humans.

I don't really know what Frolich is trying to say, but lack of condemnation of such behavior shows passive support for it.

Zero tolerance should not just apply to kids' behavior on the school playground; it should also apply to threatening adults and people who support them.

Armineh Noravian

Cupertino

Ombudsman money would could be better spent

I find myself puzzled by the small group of disaffected parents in the Cupertino Union School District who wish the Santa Clara County Board of Education to appoint an ombudsman as an "unbiased" liaison between parents and administration.

I'm puzzled because I've never had difficulty finding a willing ear in the administration, even when I was a brand new parent with a developmentally disabled child, requesting services for that child.

I've had many opportunities to speak up in several other venues, and I've always felt heard, even when I was saying something critical of the district. I have found most of the board members and pretty much all of the administration of the district, to be open-minded people with the best interests of the children in our district foremost in all their considerations.

I have always found them respectful of my right to speak.

I think CUSD works miracles. The district is one of the lowest funded in the state, yet our test scores are consistently among the highest in the state. Is everything always perfect? No--but I'm betting there are people working on making it better. I would rather see the money that would be spent on an ombudsman going into classroom programs.

Maggie Evart

Cupertino

Board is sensitive and
responsive to parents

I am writing in response to the Courier's Feb. 2 article "District Parents Seek Help From County School Board." I have been an active parent in the Cupertino School District for seven years and was surprised and angered to read this story.

I have always found the district to have excellent communication with parents and provide many clear opportunities for parents to express their concerns or complaints.

In particular, my kids attend West Valley Elementary, and our principal has an "open door" communication policy where parents can stop by to discuss any concern without an appointment.

Parents feel supported and heard in all aspects of our school community. I have also been to many school board meetings and have always found the board members to be sensitive, respectful and responsive to any parent who has a complaint.

Parents and members of the community who wish to speak at school board meetings are always given the opportunity.

The citizens of Cupertino elected the members of our school board to make decisions in the best interest of all the kids in the Cupertino schools.

The two parents interviewed for the article, Lynnette Eng and Melissa Hilton, are not representative of most of the parents in this district. In fact, it has been my experience that most parents are thrilled with this district and have gone out of their way to make sure that their kids attend school in Cupertino.

It is just too bad that the squeakiest wheels are the ones who get attention in the media. Wouldn't it be much better if these few parents turned their negative efforts into positive ones by helping to defeat the Governor's new proposed budget, which will take money away from our schools!

Jackie Browning

C.U.S.D. Parent

It's not the differences; it's
how we approach them

I'm a 43-year-old businesswoman and a proud parent who has a child currently attending a wonderful school in the Cupertino Union School District.

I'm very pleased to see the progress CUSD has made for the last few years. For example, the construction and opening of the Collins Elementary School and Collins Middle School were all on the target according to the specified schedule.

Also, our schools have been able to provide our children with many wonderful music and arts programs even when the funding is extremely scarce.

As we know, in any large school community, there will be problems big or small. However, how we approach our differences is truly the key to the great success of our schools.

Oh behalf of our children (the future promise of our country), let's all work together with CUSD for a bright tomorrow.

Lily Kwok

Cupertino

Parent complaints are not
an anomaly in the district

The article "District parents seek help from county school board" in the Feb. 2 issue of the Courier refers to an "anomaly" on the horizon. The article is referring to an unhappy group of district parents who basically feel that they're not being respected or listened to. This is not an anomaly. These same people have been on the horizon in the past, are on the horizon at present and will undoubtedly remain on the horizon in the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to show them that the district doors are now, and have in the past, been wide open to parents and community members. As chairwoman of the Cupertino Coalition for Education, I extended an open invitation ... a plea, actually ... to those who might help us address the problem of the funding inequity within our state.

I have yet to hear from those who say they feel excluded. As head of the Cupertino Schools Volunteer Network, I'm now inviting them to come onboard and be part of a positive solution. We're seeking parents and others from the community to volunteer within the school district.

At present we're looking for interpreters. Perhaps Lynette Eng could help us find volunteers to interpret for those she states are unable to understand some of the district materials. We're also in need of volunteers at the school sites.

We can be reached at 408.252.3000 ext. 488.

Barbara Kangas

Cupertino Schools Volunteer Network

The board still ensures
world class education

The two articles on the Cupertino Union School District which appeared in the Courier on Feb. 2 underscore the tribulations of being a CUSD board member these days.

In the lawsuit brought by Stephen Williams and the Alliance Defense Fund against the CUSD, the school board members, Principal Vidmar, and Superintendent Bragg are each named individually and were at least initially castigated in the media for having "banned the Declaration of Independence" a ludicrous claim which has since been refuted in this paper and elsewhere.

To be sure, the district's liability insurance means that none of these individuals should lose their homes to finance their defense in court. Anyone who has lived through litigation, however, knows that it takes a toll not only on finances but on personal lives as well.

The request by a group of ten parents led by former school board candidates Lynette Eng and Melissa Hilton for an ombudsman is a little more perplexing, and the suggestion that students and families are retaliated against by the district when they challenge district policies, I find hard to believe. I can recall many heated debates and late night board meetings where parents challenged district policies on a variety of issues--the Mandarin immersion program, the decision to transition to middle schools, and let's not forget the infamous middle school boundary debate that raged on for months.

Hundreds of parents showed up at district meetings to voice their concerns, challenge assumptions and yes, passionately object to decisions made by the district. Would anyone seriously suggest that the children of these families faced retaliation?

As a product of these schools (MVHS '75), and as a parent of three sons who have each received a wonderful education at Stevens Creek Elementary School, I felt that it was important for parents to get involved when our school and beloved principal unfairly came under attack.

Our volunteer board is not perfect, but with limited resources it continues to ensure that our kids receive a world class education. They probably don't hear it too often, but here is one parent who would just like to say "thank you."

Maria Segal

Cupertino

Lying to get into a school
is a bad model for children

I'm happy to see the Fremont Union School District is taking the initiative in asking families to provide more documentation when registering their students in the district. While I feel sorry for the students who have been wronged by their parents, I think the district is doing the right thing by asking those who don't belong to leave.

Our schools are very overcrowded, and it is discouraging as a legitimate resident to find out that there could be hundreds of students filling up our classrooms that don't belong there.

What are parents teaching their children when they themselves cheat and lie to get them into a school that they don't belong in?

Can these same parents get mad when they find out that their child has cheated on a test in hopes of a better grade and therefore the chance at a better college? I think not since they have taught their children that it is okay to cheat the system to get what you want. Shame on them.

Some may try to place blame on the school district for sending a student back to the school they belong to and separating them from their friends, but the blame should lie solely on the parents who put their own children in the situation to begin with.

Cheating and lying to get into a school or a better grade is wrong. It's time for us to teach our children that honesty and integrity are what will get them through life, not what high school they attended.

Cathy Gatley

Cupertino

Board and superintendent
are always approachable

As a CUSD parent, I was perplexed to read your article about the parents who are taking their case to the County Board of Education. I personally don't see the board and the superintendent as people who are hell-bent on wronging parents. They are parents themselves and God knows you could not pay me enough to do the job they are doing. If anything, I'm extremely thankful that there are people like them to do that job for a minimal stipend.

I have always found the board members and the superintendent very approachable and ready to listen. I have had more contact with them since this issue with Stevens Creek Elementary School started and have found them to be caring individuals ready to listen and change if necessary. But they are under lawyers' orders not to discuss the legal issues and that sometimes can be miss-interpreted as stonewalling. Ah. The eternal fight of lawyers and PR people.

I think anyone may react negatively to what he or she perceives as a threat, and if Lynette Eng's interactions with the board have always been attacks, I don't see how they could react positively to what she has to say.

The board runs according to established procedures.

If Eng feels the procedures need to be changed, (and I myself have petitioned in writing that they listen to community speakers first), then she should try to work cooperatively to solve these issues with them. My mom always taught me that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I'd suggest a bit more honey from Eng. Diplomacy seems to be highly underrated these days.

Nathalie Schuler Ferro

Cupertino

Education dollars for an
ombudsman inappropriate

As a long-standing and relatively informed parent in the Cupertino Union School District, I am saddened to see the continuing disruption and distraction of dedicated staff and board members by former school board candidates and parents demanding special treatment. Enough is enough. What about the other 15,000 students in this district?

Upon reading "District parents seek help from county school board" in the Feb. 2 issue of the Cupertino Courier, and seeing that it is the same individuals who have lobbied for their special interests in the past, I have to conclude that the most recent claims are repeated attempts to gain public attention and increase divisiveness in this district.

While the issues they raise may have some merit, they have the same avenues for pursuing them in public as every other citizen. The fact that they are never satisfied with the response, and even charge caring teachers with retribution, is repeated evidence of their intention to be divisive rather than to resolve any concerns in a manner consistent with the tradition of this district--putting children first. Suggesting that we spend our limited education dollars on an ombudsperson, whose feedback is just as likely to be disrespected, is inappropriate.

These parents may be frustrated and their concerns for their children not withstanding, the hallmark of CUSD has always been serving all children. I would encourage the district to continue to listen to parents' concerns and to work on improving communications, but not to bend to the bullying of a few outspoken parents. We need to build community, and our schools are an integral part of that effort.

Jeff Byron

Cupertino