The Sunnyvale Sun

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Hard work and dedication
pay off for local actors

The West Side Story musical was a huge hit with the audience on opening weekend. The Sunnyvale Community Players have worked very hard to make this a spectacular production. This was my first experience with a theater production and I had no idea how many hours the cast and staff endures. I helped with props, set painting, and costumes. I visited second-hand clothing stores so often I knew the clerks on a first-name basis. During dance rehearsals the cast would arrive clean and dry, then finish the night sweating so much they were like snowmen melting away. Everyone gave it their all and it shows on stage. The crisp dance turns, lifts, and mambo are breath-taking. The actors tumble, fall, hit, and slide, making the fight scenes very realistic. You will experience the feeling of love, hate, hope and despair throughout the show. West Side Story is about gangs fighting in the '50s and I am glad times have changed and this behavior is behind us. Then a week ago, a cast member's brother was shot and killed while driving through Oakland. This tragedy has made me realize that times have not changed and gang violence still prevails. The 35 actors are pouring their heart and soul into this production, hoping to make a positive change to rid the streets of gang violence.

Marcy Chaussee

Sunnyvale

Some on school board
accused of rash action

The sudden and unjustified firing of Steve Rowley by the FUHSD board will be an expensive mistake with serious negative impact to the schools, taxpayers and the high school students of Sunnyvale and Cupertino. Between unpaid salary, attorney's fees for related litigation as well as reviewing the Katz/Krieger issue, the search for a new superintendent, and lawsuit damages--this fiasco will easily cost the district $1 million. When asked at a Rotary candidates' forum if board incumbents knew what the cost of their actions would be, those who had voted to fire Rowley admitted they had not taken that into consideration when making their decision.

This is totally irresponsible to me and the other taxpayers of our community.

A million dollars will consume 20 percent of the parcel tax funds raised this year, could pay for 20 new teachers or 50 AP classes. It is equivalent to the proceeds from 25 Crab Feed fundraisers that our community so generously provides to fund unbudgeted programs. This firing will cause a colossal waste of taxpayer money and will hurt everyone in the community.

I support candidates who will put performance over politics, will keep the public informed and who won't foolishly waste taxpayers' money. I hope others will look at the voting and attendance records of the incumbents who are running for the board this year. That, along with this poor decision, should be enough to convince anyone to vote for Barbara Nunes, Don McKenzie and Bill Wilson.

Steve Andrews

Cupertino

Rowley, union head
not in staff's corner

Not everyone is upset Rowley is gone. Tom Avvakumovits is a puppet for management.

When I heard that Rowley was fired, I felt like celebrating. I was so sick of hearing him talk about bridging the achievement gap, when every remedial program and vocational program was being taken away that would help the underclass in the FUHSD whose achievement is several deviations below the mean on standardized measures.

Nor did I enjoy Rowley saying that he empathized with staff about the 4.9 percent rollback that was taken from our paychecks, and without missing a beat he then introduced five new administrators with six-figure salaries who had been hired by the district.

Unfortunately my elation at Rowley's firing was quickly diminished when I heard Polly Bove was now acting superintendent, since Rowley's errant email, which spoke of collusion between him and board members Nunes and Newton, was addressed to Polly Bove. No one sends a letter or email with the tone of this particular email to a neutral or innocent party.

It suggests Bove was part of a conspiracy to slam board member Avie Katz and his wife. It was a malicious and hateful email with clear political intent, not so coincidentally just months before an election.

Additionally, Tom Avvakumovits, president of the teachers union, has proven himself more of a friend to the administration than to the members of the union. Instead of protecting the rights of Cathy Katz, a union member, he has gone out of his way to support Rowley and Bove. Historically, when the district attempted to eliminate the guidance resource position, which would mean all 11 guidance counselors would lose their jobs, Avvakumovits did not utter a word of protest. Last year Avvakumovits spearheaded a drive to reduce school psychologists' salary by 10 percent. School psychologists are also union members. Unheard of, that a union president would campaign to reduce the salary of the union members whom he is supposed to represent and advocate for.

Esther Radol

Parent, Homestead High School

This writer believes
feng shui is quackery

Bad taste is bad taste. Common sense is common sense. Let us not pollute good architectural principles with yet another set of taboos.

Too bad for those homebuyers spending $500 an hour on feng shui consultations. That wasted money would be better spent on those without homes or some other charity. I wish your story had included a feng shui exposé or at least one detractor; the subject matter was addressed too lightly. Consider this: If feng shui grows in local practice, the victims will likely be competent architects, designers and decorators as well as sellers losing a good bid for invalid reasons.

It could get worse. Some have even proposed mandating feng shui design principles in the California Building Code. I hope the American Institute of Architects, our education system and local leaders can keep this quackery out of the public forum. It would be a community disservice to blame public and individual misfortunes on lack of feng shui consultation.

Jamie Allen

Sunnyvale

Traffic a problem, yes,
but writer isn't local

I read the letter form Linda Orvick, who lives in Los Altos, lecturing the Cupertino parents on their rude and dangerous driving habits during the pickup and drop-off times at Kennedy Middle School and Monta Vista High. I agree with what she is saying, having driven through the areas at both schools during this time. It is truly a nightmare.

I think her 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 school district, where they should be going to school, and into the Cupertino school district.

Jim Carlisle

Cupertino