Grad requirements debated in legislature
Re: “Dems kill math-science learning bill,” March 23 news story.
It is very disappointing to learn that state Democrats have shot down a bill that would have fulfilled a conspicuously missing requirement of Colorado high school graduates. The bill, had it not been killed, would have mandated high school students to complete four years of math and three years of science. It was killed in spite of a growing ignorance of math and science among students across the country.
Math and science are at the core of our society. To not emphasize these disciplines during the course of a high school education is a disservice to all students who opt to fulfill graduation requirements outside of math and science. They provide students with a powerful tool set which they will have at their disposal for the rest of their lives. Math offers the ability to solve a manifold of problems that inevitably occur throughout our working lives. The beauty of science rests on the notion that ideas must endure rigorous and exhaustive testing before they are accepted as robust and coherent.
It is a shame Democrats killed this bill, lest a spike in dropout rates may have resulted or a lack of educational diversity would have ostensibly ensued had the bill been realized.
Josh Schwalm, Lone Tree
Will Chiquita execs be sent to Guantanamo?
Re: “Banana execs may be sought in terror case,” March 19 news brief.
Wow. So Chiquita has been funding terrorists for years, and gets a fine of $25 million (which to a company that large is next to nothing)?
From what I’ve read since 2001, working with terrorists is considered a very serious crime by the U.S. government, and has been the cause of some people being sent to secret prisons around the world to be tortured and confined. And Guantanamo is full of folks who allegedly worked with terrorists (even though we don’t know for sure about most of them yet). Is there any chance Chiquita executives will be sent to Guantanamo? Tortured in a foreign jail? Are they traitors to the United States?
In my opinion, if the government is serious about fighting terrorism, the folks at Chiquita who collaborated with Colombian terrorist organizations should receive the harshest possible punishments. But I somehow don’t think that is going to happen.
Neil Haverstick, Lakewood
Benefits of using bonus pay in government
Re: “Jeffco tallies bonus pay; $353,000 over 5 years,” March 19 news story.
I am dismayed by Jefferson County Commissioner Kathy Hartman’s comments, “I am uncomfortable with bonuses for public employees,” and, “This is public-service work. If they don’t have a personal pride in their work and personal pride to providing service to the citizens, then they are working for the wrong employer.” The connection between these statements is not readily apparent.
I agree with Hartman’s opinion that the critical thing “is to ensure that county workers are being paid fairly,” but bonuses and fair pay are not mutually exclusive. Bonuses may be incorporated into compensation to provide fair pay.
The math: $544,000 over five years divided among 361 employees amounts to approximately $300 per year per employee. Assuming an annual salary of $35,000, this is 0.86 percent, peanuts compared to the bonuses handed out to the former governor’s top staff. Were any other pay increases forthcoming over this three-year period? Let’s hear all the facts before condemning the bonuses.
Government is continually pressured to operate like business yet rarely given the tools to accomplish this. Proper use of the private-sector practice of granting bonuses may assist in the hiring and retention of outstanding employees, and should be considered in the discussion.
Craig M. Lis, Golden
Funding decisions for state government
Re: “Court says transfers of state funds legal,” March 23 news story.
It is unfortunate that the Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld the power of the legislature to raid cash funds so it can finance its voracious appetite for spending. Just because a court says it is acceptable, however, does not make it good policy. The ruling may have let lawmakers off the hook for having drawn down fee-funded accounts from 2001 to 2004 to cover the state’s operating expenses, but it is still a reckless and dishonest way to run our state government.
First of all, there were other ways to balance the budget in those lean years – notably, reduced spending. I am painfully aware of all the members of the General Assembly who were loath to wield the budget knife, but it was a valid option.
Also, looting the cash funds was just plain wrong in principle and violated the trust of the Coloradans who funded those accounts. Those funds represent the fines and fees that are used to pay for the many different programs and services for which that revenue is collected in the first place. In other words, they are supposed to be self-funded. Some of these funds also pertain to a specific industry and are sustained through fees assessed on businesses in that industry. Those who pay into those funds should have a reasonable expectation their money will not be siphoned off to underwrite the overall growth of government.
I believe if you borrow something and fail to give it back, you are stealing. It is disappointing that so many of my colleagues do not seem to understand that.
State Sen. Ron May, Colorado Springs
Proposed railyard
Re: “Rail plans rattle neighbors; A huge Union Pacific hub north of Brighton doesn’t sit well with rural residents,” March 26 news story.
Let’s put the NASCAR track and the Union Pacific railyard next to DIA. It is already noisy there. Perhaps using the land near DIA for other noisy projects might keep some benighted developer from building houses there, thus preventing complaints from homebuyers who fail to notice they are buying near an airport.
Kathy Groth, Aurora
Firing of U.S. attorneys
I find it interesting that Harriet E. Miers is one of the central figures that Congress wants to call as a witness in the dismissal of the U.S. attorneys.
This is the same person George Bush wanted to be appointed to the U.S Supreme Court. Thankfully, wiser heads prevailed and her nomination was withdrawn. In wake of this investigation, could you imagine her sitting on the court? Where does Bush get these cronies from? This power-hungry administration will go down as the most corrupt in history, even surpassing that of Warren G. Harding.
The question remains: Why are the U.S. attorneys at the pleasure of the president? Shouldn’t they be non-political?
Dave Darling, Aurora
Rooting for Cinderella
Re: “You gotta believe (that Cinderella can’t win)!” March 23 Mark Kiszla column.
Mark Kiszla was a bit harsh in his column in regards to Southern Illinois. Is he aware that in 1966, Texas Western College (now UTEP), coached by Don Haskins, won the NCAA tournament, beating Kentucky? You never know what can happen on any given day. If he doesn’t know the story, he could rent the movie “Glory Road.” Not only did Texas Western win, it opened up the sport in college for black players.
Syril Beinhorn, Denver
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