It is no secret that one of the greatest appeals to Saratoga residency is our shining example of a high school. Our test scores are among the highest in the country, our AP classes range from music theory to Language Composition, and we are the epitome of responsive and well-behaved students. What, then, are Saratoga High School's finest resources? What is the secret?

Some would argue that it is our "brilliant youths," who have been afforded years of tutoring, piano lessons, athletic discipline and SAT classes. Others would suggest that this is a product of our expensive textbooks, our multimillion dollar PAL center and the limitless technological resources available to all students.

I, even as one of these youths, would laugh at all of this. Saratoga High School's most valuable resources are the ones we value least: our staff. They are the Kerry Mohnikes, the Todd Dwyers and the Kevin Mounts. Saratoga High's most valuable resources are the people who spend their days, and often afternoons and evenings, putting the actual time into the classrooms. Teachers such as Dan McBride, whom you may not remember; Mr. McBride left after my freshman year to pursue a more promising position in New York. He did, however, leave behind valuable compilations, presentations and lectures that are still critical to the English curriculum at SHS.

This is certainly no anomaly. Many readers will remember Dr. Kevin Skelly, the highly respected principal who helped bring the school to the greatness it now enjoys. Dr. Skelly and his family, once active members of our community, left last year for San Diego, as Skelly was also offered a more promising position.

How long will Saratoga High favor million-dollar football fields over quality leaders in the classroom? I'm not sure--but I thought I would write in to pose the question and express my gratitude for having been able to spend time in the class with these teachers, as well as the many other true role models I've encountered during my four years at Saratoga High.

I haven't had a chance to really check out the new PAL center or the football field--but for some reason, I don't feel like I need to. Mr. Mount has me enthralled with Sartre and Freud, and Mr. Dwyer (although I'm no longer in his class) has lent me a few great books on globalization, so off I go.

Jonathan Levi

Anza Drive

City breaks a promise
with vote to sell land

My name is Kevin Lee and I am a senior at Saratoga High. I read your article on the city council selling the North Campus and I was wondering about some issues we may have with our current system of making choices. The way I see the issue, we have several problems to deal with. We need to raise money, represent the true feelings of the people and honor our promises.

As I understand it, the city voted to try to split up the property into several pieces and then sell each individual piece for a total sum of $6 million to $9 million. We are doing this because our city is in a financial hole and we need the money. The problem I see with this is that we could raise the money some other way.

We live in Saratoga, which is supposed to be a bubble that is full of rich and generous people. The senior citizens who argued the decision had the idea that this whole problem could be solved by a tax plan. With the extra tax revenue, we could pull the city out of the slump it's in while simultaneously renovating the property for the benefit of the community. With several options on this case, selling the property seems a hasty and unwise decision for the city council.

Another thing that is wrong in this case is that the council is not truly representing the feelings of the people. Despite the feelings of all the senior citizens who protested the vote by passionately speaking in defense of the property, and the feelings of the previous owners of the property, the council decided in a 3-2 vote to sell the property.

With such a close vote inside the council and such a strongly one-sided public opinion, the decision should have gone the other way, or at least the council should have been able to find a compromise. The councilors voting to keep the property were at least willing to find a middle ground in the argument by offering to lease the land instead of selling it, but the people in favor of the sale refused to budge an inch. The strength of democracy is its ability to create compromises, and without that strength democracy is a hopeless battle between two sides that cannot or will not work together. The councilors that voted for the sale should have at least made an effort to save the place.

The last issue that comes to my mind is more of an ethical one. The previous owners of the land sold it to the city with the promise that the land would be used to the benefit of the residents. By selling this land, we are clearly breaking the vow to help the people. We are instead using the property as a means to gain money for ourselves. This is a greedy view that is only justified by the idea that it was a previous city council that made this agreement so the current council is not bound by it.

This is a preposterous statement, as then all treaties and agreements that exist would have no meaning. The instant new people come to office, they would be able to break all existing bonds with the simple argument that they themselves did not make the agreement. A promise is a promise, and this one was not just made by a city council but by the city of Saratoga itself.

When we purchased this land, we told the church we would use it for the people. If we break our word, how will anyone else trust us in the future? Using the reason of money is a poor excuse to throw away our reputation as a city that honors its word and follows through on its promises.

Kevin Lee

Saratoga