The Cupertino Courier

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Vice mayor wants to
clarify her statement

In last week's Courier cover story titled "Language Arts" (Courier July 26), a quotation of mine was presented without its underlying context, which made it appear as an opinion rather than an observation. What I have noticed, and meant to convey in the article, is that, in Cupertino, political candidates have recently begun providing bilingual campaign materials on their own volition to reach out to the Chinese-American community. These bilingual materials allow candidates to have Chinese-character names and present their platforms in the Chinese language.

My quotation was to point out how candidates have had to adapt in order to reach out to the entire community.

Kris Wang

Cupertino city council

Tree removal ordinance
in Cupertino is unclear

The letter from the vice mayor of Cupertino (Courier, July 5) about tree removal indicated the city finally realized it has a problem with its tree removal ordinance. Other than the fact that it is difficult to interpret, there are two bigger issues at hand: Guidelines for removing trees from Cupertino properties are not easily accessible on the Internet, and procedures and fees should vary between commercial properties, housing developments and private homeowners.

On July 4, I googled the subject "tree removal permit fee," and found detailed guidelines on city websites such as Seattle, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Tahoe and Oakland. In general, the permit is handled by the town arborist and application fees range between $50-$130. Most of these cities also have the permit available online.

Orange County shows two types of tree removal permits--tree removal for developed and undeveloped properties. The fees are $76 (with some exceptions) and $115, respectively. I also found an article speaking of a San Jose city councilman exploring ways to lower or eliminate the $226 permit fee for the removal of private-property trees.

A new search of the Cupertino city website showed a "tree removal permit application" revised on 7/3/2006. Tree removal fees as follows:

* Planning Commission tree removal $2,536.

* Director tree removal $819.

* Arborist Consultant Deposit $1,000.

Rather than scolding residents for not following the rules, I would encourage Cupertino's public officials to make more information publicly accessible on the city's official website. The "one size fits all" tree removal Ordinance should be reviewed for fairness in addition to clarity.

In conclusion, a dead tree in Cupertino needs director-level approval and $1,819 to rest in peace.

Annie Karpat

Cupertino

Many in Cupertino rally in the defense of lost Leadership teacher

Thank you for your July 19 report titled "Teacher Exits Monta Vista." (Courier July 19). The Courier has been doing a great job in keeping the public informed about what is happening in the community, maintaining its reputation as a newspaper that people look forward to reading every week.

It's a shock for a parent like me to discover that teachers as exceptional as Tim Krieger and Melanie Walczak are leaving Monta Vista High School. I have been impressed by their love and dedication to Monta Vista. They have taken on so many responsibilities in school and have done an outstanding job in each one of them. Mr. Krieger is the type of teacher who handles all work with devotion, intelligence, enthusiasm and integrity. When he takes on a task, he not only carries it out, but he establishes a new higher standard for it. If he were to become a guidance resource teacher (the position he had applied for, as reported in your paper), he would bring the program to a higher level that Monta Vista has never seen before.

Their leaving is a huge loss to Monta Vista. I cannot comprehend why two teachers who care so much for their students and school would feel like they needed to leave. The public deserves an independent investigation to learn the truth behind what has happened.

Nan-sing Chuang

Cupertino

Popular teacher's loss, many say, is painful in many ways

I'm saddened to learn of Tim Krieger's leaving. A Chinese proverb says planting trees gives a legacy of decades, but planting students gives a legacy of centuries. Mr. Krieger is the reason I chose to pursue biology as a major and a future career. I owe him too much gratitude to just let this incident pass by.

Therefore, my first reason for chastising the FUHSD board is because of a sentiment that every student who has had Mr. Krieger shares.

He is one of the most passionate teachers, one of the most caring friends and one of the most qualified biology instructors--with national recognition.

As the marquee "attraction" of a Monta Vista education for which parents are willing to invest $800,000 or more, his departure will mean less prestige for the school.

I believe, in the long run, residents of Cupertino will feel the drop in the quality of their children's education and the concomitant housing prices.

The situation surrounding his departure is even more disturbing. I'd like to share, as my second reason for chastising the board, a special experience I've had with Mr. Krieger. During my junior year, a friend of mine and I were completing an assignment that required the sharing of data.

Mr. Krieger thought we were copying and thus cheating. The two of us explained the situation to him, and he realized he had erred. After this incident, he never made either of us feel uncomfortable or guilty. He gladly wrote me countless recommendation letters my senior year, and had the trust and integrity to leave them unsealed for my perusal. Based on this experience, I haven't any doubt that the situation regarding Ms. Katz's daughter's erroneous cheating accusation would have been rectified. To cause such a talented educator to leave based on such a frivolous basis (that occurred seven years ago) is beyond all reason.

I urge the board, the Monta Vista community, and residents of Cupertino to all try their best to retain someone irreplaceable. Please give me, and thousands of other students, the gratification of knowing that even if we fail at changing Krieger's decision to leave, our united outcry expresses a form of "thank you" befitting someone extraordinary.

Jimmy Zhuang

Monta Vista class of '04

Foundation supports district's superintendent and staff leader

The purpose of the Fremont Union High School's Foundation is to support and enhance programs within the Fremont Union High School District. We support our students, our schools, our district and our superintendent and his staff.

On June 28, there was a letter to the editor of the Courier stating that the relationship between the High Schools Foundation and the superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District was at an all-time low.

The foundation would like to clarify two issues:

The writer of the previously mentioned letter to the editor does not speak for the foundation.

The foundation has a very good working relationship with Dr. Rowley.

The foundation looks forward to continuing our positive relationship with Dr. Rowley and his staff as we further support our students and the Fremont Union High School District.

Erica Headley

Executive director

Laurie Dean

Co-president

Kathee Kraker

Co-president