Saratoga News

Letters

Parents need to wake up

I was flabbergasted to read that there are those who actually sued over the now-infamous streaking incident at SHS. What kind of parents deny their child the opportunity to learn and grow by accepting responsibility for his or her own actions?

In volunteer work with the juvenile dependency system, I have had the sad occasion to witness firsthand how abdication of moral responsibility and plain old-fashioned ignorance weaken the social fabric. It is unfortunate that such conditions exist here in Saratoga, but judging by recent letters to the editor, they do.

Kenneth Johnson, in the June 4 issue of the Saratoga News, seems to assume that we are guilty until proven innocent, rather than the other way around. Has he collected all the information pertaining to the acid in the water bottle "prank"? What if the water bottle contained, oh, say, water?

In the same issue, Jeanine Seagraves wrote her thoughts on the cheating incident. I wonder if she knows about the AP history students who have come forward on their own and accepted serious punishment?

They erred in cheating, but their parents didn't allow the error to be compounded by a frivolous lawsuit against the district.

My advice to parents up in arms over what they perceive to be unequal punishment is: Wake up. Teach your children values yourself instead of whining about what a lousy job someone else is making of it.

Kristin Venuti
Big Basin Way

Called on promises

At the June 18 City Council meeting, the budget for 1997-99 was approved.

This is the first time residents can really see the financial impact of the November 1996 election in which Jim Shaw and Stan Bogosian convinced the voters to elect them and stop the utility tax.

In that election, our new councilmembers convinced a bare majority that Saratoga did not need the utility-tax revenue and that the city budget reserves and city fees were too high.

They also said they would maintain essential city services and improve and expand recreation facilities.

The budget appears to indicate Jim and Stan were wrong on the need for the utility tax. The budget makes major cuts in many city services, as well as city management and staff, to balance the budget.

They also found, after studying the need for city reserves, the $2 million reserve is reasonable and should not be cut. They also found they could not cut fees but are now in the process of raising them.

Also, with the loss of the utility revenue, they could not make improvements or expansions in parks and recreation facilities (which maintain the quality of life in our city), school crossing guards for our children, city planning and inspection services (which will result in slower processing), maintenance of the streets (which will cost the city more in the long run), senior and youth services and support for community events.

In spite of their position that the previous council was not open, the proposed cuts still have not been fully communicated in detail for public review and comment.

It appears to me when the voters discover they made a mistake in following Jim and Stan's advice to vote down the utility tax, they will not be happy. In the meantime, what are Jim and Stan going to do to help the city recover from the financial crisis they created and get both the basic services we had and need to keep our city from deteriorating?

Jack Mallory
Kirkdale Drive

Correction

In the June 18 edition of the Saratoga News, Paula Reeve's job title was incorrectly identified. Reeve is an assistant in the city manager's office for the city of Saratoga.

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