The Cupertino Courier
Letters & Opinions
Speak Out
Writer stands by his point regarding location
Hilary Lujack took me to task in her letter (Courier, Oct. 18) for pointing out that I did not do my research and did not know that students from many cities go to Cupertino schools. I am fully aware of that after living in Cupertino for 30 years. My point in my letter (Courier, Oct. 11), which apparently was not clear enough for Ms. Lujack, was that if you are going to write a letter as Mrs. Orvick from Los Altos did, to be printed in the Courier lecturing how undisciplined, rude and dangerous in their driving habits Cupertino parents are when dropping their students off at Kennedy Middle School or Monta Vista High, it would be much more effective coming from someone with a Cupertino address. I still believe that.
Jim Carlisle
Cupertino
Bill Wilson would be a
fresh addition to board
Like other local parents I know, I became concerned this summer when I read about what was happening with the Fremont Union High School District Board. In particular, I felt the board was not putting what was ultimately best for students first when making decisions.
That's why I'm very pleased that Bill Wilson is running for a position on the board. I've known Bill and his family for several years. I cannot think of a person better suited or more qualified for the job. Without a doubt, I know that Bill will put what's best for students in first place. I know he'll listen to students, parents, teachers, and administrators when making important decisions. I also think he'll bring a positive spirit of cooperation in working with other board members and district officials.
I encourage all voters to vote for Bill Wilson for the Fremont Union High School District Board on Nov. 7.
Pam Marino
Cupertino
Vote for candidate who
supports all students
Until someone has a child who has been lost through the school process, one will never understand and appreciate community advocates. As a grandparent and guardian of a school-aged child, I do understand, because my family and I have suffered through the frustrations and lack of clear guidance for children who are not classified as having special needs.
I have been to county board meetings on behalf of our concerns and have witnessed Lynette Lee Eng in her efforts to work with the county board in bringing forth solutions that will benefit the parents and children of our community. I am grateful to know that there are parents like her who have tirelessly dedicated themselves to parental and child advocacy. Lynette Lee Eng would be a wonderful addition to the county board of education. It is time that we have a representative who will truly represent the needs of our community.
Don and Betty Neely
Cupertino
Teacher speaks out in
support of union head
It is no more than a conspiracy theory by Esther Radol that Tom Avvakumovits is at the mercy of the puppeteering of the FUHSD management.
I don't question that Steve Rowley and the majority of the board was not on the same page in the direction they wanted to take the district. Yet I do question whether their differences could have been tolerated considering they are our community leaders and elected officials. This rash decision to fire Dr. Rowley now runs far beyond the squabbling of the school board, but it may affect the pay of over 400 teachers and the educational programming of 10,000 students, quite possibly those very vocational and remedial programs that Dr. Rowley has been accused of neglecting. Tom Avvakumovits' bringing this decision to question is not in support of Dr. Rowley, but out of concern for the very teachers that he represents through the Fremont Education Association (FEA).
As a teacher in the district, I not only support Tom Avvakumovits' decision questioning the board's fiscal responsibility, but I encourage him to seek more answers and offer my help in doing so. Trying to drag him down with Dr. Rowley with misleading and false information is irresponsible. First, when the guidance counselors' positions were in jeopardy of being cut, Tom was not the president of the FEA, so he did not stand by passively as our leader. Second, the 10 percent stipend reduction to new-hire psychologists to the district did not affect the current psychologists in the district. This 10 percent stipend reduction was a move to bring equal pay for equal work for the entire membership, but it only affected new-hire psychologists. The members at that time did not receive any pay reduction whatsoever.
I only hope that the community questions the board's decision and its effect on the fiscal budget of their schools.
Jason Heskett, teacher
Cupertino High School
This teacher questions the
identity of a letter writer
I was surprised you published a letter from a nonexistent person (Courier Oct. 11) taking insulting potshots at both the administrators and the teachers' union president of the Fremont Union High School District. If you look carefully at the letter from "Esther Radol," you will note she refers to "our paychecks" while commenting about events at an internal staff gathering, suggesting that she is a union member; yet she signed the letter as a Homestead High "parent." There is no teacher union member named Esther Radol, and no Homestead parent in the district records named Esther Radol. This is obviously a pseudonym for a disgruntled union member whose opinions are completely at odds with the rank and file, and who is unwilling to put her own name on her libelous remarks. Your readers should be informed that there is no more truth in the contents of her letter than there is in her false identity.
Jon Stark, teacher
Monta Vista High
Yes on Measure A will
preserve rural lifestyle
In Cupertino there has been a lot of debate about limiting development. But growth and development pressure is very real and could turn Santa Clara County into another sprawling Los Angeles if it is allowed in the wrong places--for example, on the county's remaining hillsides and working farms.
Have you taken the time to think about what that could do to our county's quality of life? Hillsides and farmlands would bereplaced with subdivisions and gridlock. This would be a waste of valuable natural resources. Communities can choose to have vibrant and attractive downtowns, which Cupertino is working to achieve, or they could instead act to push growth out onto rural lands, spreading our activities further and further apart so it is absolutely necessary to drive everywhere, like in Los Angeles.
That is what leads to traffic, to smog and to polluted drinking water. It would destroy the scenery that makes this such a beautiful place to live.
Measure A--the county's Land Conservation Initiative--would protect us from harmful and unnecessary development in the wrong places and would safeguard our quality of life. Rural lands should remain rural. That balance would lead to a healthy future for our children. Join me in voting yes on Measure A Nov. 7.
Paul Fong
Cupertino
Special interests are
behind Measure A
Measure A is a disaster and deserves a no vote. Conceived by special interests behind closed doors and without public hearings, it would require a minimum lot size of 160 acres per home in most of the rural parts of the county, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The county already has reasonable ordinances in place to control rural development. If Measure A passes, its unnecessary restrictions on private property will make it even harder to obtain the needed affordable housing in the county and will hamstring farming and other commercial operations. No wonder the county supervisors from the areas most affected oppose Measure A.
If you read past the high-sounding platitudes at the beginning of the measure, you'll find all the nasty details of unnecessary control and restriction of property owners' use of their own land, as well as considerable vague terminology and unclear adjectives that would lead to costly legal battles (involving taxpayer funds) to resolve interpretation and enforcement. Of course, it's all in the name of "politically correct" open space. But when you realize that with the open space land already preserved by the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, county parks and nearby state parks, there are well over 100,000 acres already permanently set aside--there is no reason to rush ahead with this measure, which can only be modified (or corrected if need be) by further costly elections. The county already has a general plan in place for reasonable regulation of rural and hillside lands, and we don't need further "big brother" government encroachment. Vote no on Measure A.
Mickey Miller
Sunnyvale
Traffic around schools is
serious issue for Cupertino
I felt compelled to write after reading the response from Jim Carlisle (Courier Oct. 11) to Linda Orvick's piece (Courier Oct. 4) about the traffic problems near Kennedy, Lincoln and Monta Vista. Mr. Carlisle states that Ms. Orvick's "lecture might have been better accepted by Cupertino parents if it were written by a resident of Cupertino, and not someone who lives in Los Altos and by some means has managed to get her children out of the Los Altos district, where they should be going to school, and into the Cupertino school district." Mr. Carlisle should have done his homework before blasting a concerned parent of the district, and making an unfair accusation of non-residency at the same time. If he had, he'd realize that both the Cupertino Union and Fremont Union districts are very broad and include numerous cities within their boundaries. Look at the boundary maps, Mr. Carlisle. I am a Saratoga resident. I live near Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and Cox Ave. That's at the exact opposite end from where Ms. Orvick lives, yet our children attend the same school district. I also drive my children to Monta Vista and Kennedy and would feel qualified to make the same observations as Ms. Orvick based on my experiences with drivers around those schools.
Making the assumption that, just because someone doesn't live in Cupertino they are unqualified to make a commentary about the traffic problems there, is just shortsighted and ridiculous. The traffic problem is huge and it affects residents and non-residents alike.
Marcia Kearns
Saratoga
Issue over garage height is evidence of mismanaged project
I am concerned about the recent Vallco garage petition.
The garage height was approved by city council in January. Vallco can build a garage no higher than 32 feet. This is to preserve the privacy of the neighborhood and to maintain the neighborhood integrity. Now the garage was built too high, and Vallco is requesting city council to alter that decision.
We should focus on the core issues of this matter: why the garage got built so high and who should be held responsible. Here are some possible resolutions:
1. Contractor is responsible. Since this project was contracted out, there should be specs for the structure. If the contractor deviated from the specs, the contractor should be responsible for the mistake and fix it.
2. Vallco developer is accountable. If contractor followed the specs, the specs provided to the contractor might be incorrect. Vallco should correct the specs and work with the contractor to retrofit to the approved specs.
3. City of Cupertino/city residents. This is what the Vallco developer proposed, requesting that city council members grant height extension for this mistake. I am very troubled at this option for this poorly managed project, since the neighborhood is left to bear the burden forever.
I urge council members to focus on the root causes of this situation and step up to save Cupertino, not save Vallco. I'm also interested to know what has been put in place by the city to monitor the progress of the Vallco and Toll Brothers projects. Two measures, D and E, are on the November ballot. All construction should have halted until final results come out. If the outcomes should be no to the re-zoning proposals, I would hope there will be no more lingering petitions or lawsuits for similar "mistakes."
We all welcome growth for Cupertino. However, if we can't recognize ill-managed projects, we are creating a long-term burden for this city as well as all residents.
No on D and E,
Eric Yang
Cupertino
One incumbent, two new-
comers needed on board
The FUHSD school board is in disarray. Rather than working for our students, the school board is overwhelmed by anger from students and parents, bogged down by disagreements between board members, and embroiled in an avoidable and costly lawsuit.
As president of the board, Avie Katz must shoulder much of the blame for the circus-like atmosphere in which the board is now operating. Rather than demonstrate leadership to bring board members together and lead the district to work on pressing issues, Avie Katz was at the center of the firestorm surrounding the regrettable resignation of one of the best teachers in the district. Mr. Katz was then one of three trustees who voted hastily to terminate the superintendent and thus subject the district to a costly lawsuit.
These actions have dominated board meetings for months and continue to inhibit the effectiveness of the board. It is clear that Mr. Katz has become a distraction and should not be returned to the district school board.
Kathryn Ho has also demonstrated that she does not deserve to be re-elected to the FUHSD board. Her vote to fire the superintendent without thoughtful review of the wasteful financial consequences shows she is not a good steward of the district's limited resources and does not have the foresight to understand the disruptive consequences of her actions.
With the worst attendance record at board meetings between 2004 and 2006, Ms. Ho has shown a remarkable indifference to the responsibility that was entrusted to her. This inadequate attendance record over an extended timeframe is certainly reason for us look to other candidates who will be more committed to this important position.
FUHSD deserves trustees who will support development, retention and promotion of our teachers, protect the assets of the district and work together to address pressing academic needs. I urge all voters in the FUHSD to vote for thoughtful and proven leaders Barbara Nunes (incumbent), Bill Wilson and Don Mackenzie for FUHSD school board frustee.
Carol Stanek
Cupertino
