Speak Out 01/13/04

Independent audit

THE CAPE Girardeau School Board should hire an independent accounting firm to conduct an audit of the district's books. The results could be published right here in the Missourian. That's the only way the public will know where the money is going, where the waste is and what needs to be cut.

Grumbling teachers

WITH ALL of the school budget problems, you would think most teachers would be happy they have jobs. I am so tired of hearing teachers complain they don't make enough. Most people don't feel they are paid what they are worth. Teachers, like everyone else, have the right to decide where they want to work. Teachers also have an excellent retirement plan. Most people should be so lucky.

Schools bind neighbors

ALL OF the public schools on the east side of Cape Girardeau have been closed. Now the district is taking aim at Franklin Elementary School. Those schools were the glue that held those neighborhoods together and kept them in contact with the district. The district won't get much contact or support when a child's elementary school is two or three miles away. And the district has probably created a larger segregation problem in the process. The lack of involvement of the east side of town will come home to roost on Election Day when the district asks for a bond issue or levy increase.

Bloomfield speeding

I CANNOT believe a higher speed limit is being considered for Bloomfield Road that becomes County Road 205. The current speed limit is abused already. We live off of this road, and it is not uncommon to hear the sirens from a wreck. As soon as it snows or rains we can bet within the hour someone will crash because of high speed. The road is curvy with a limited sight distance, no shoulders, deer crossings and trees close to the road. We have trouble turning into our drive because people want to pass us on the left even with our blinker and brake lights on. Yet with all the dangers many have fooled themselves into thinking they won't get in a wreck. Ask any resident and we can point out the many spots where someone thought the same thing. Slow down, accept a speeding ticket if you don't slow down. And save a life, perhaps your own.

No paper trail

I THINK the Cape Girardeau County Commission is smart not to keep good written records of what it does. It would make a paper trail impossible to find if there are later suspicions of shenanigans.

Support for policy

POLITICAL PUNDIT David Limbaugh seems perplexed as to why President Bush favors legal status for some illegal aliens. The president's rationale is in part a pro-business one designed to reward those who take jobs current citizens won't. It is also designed to curry favor with Hispanic voters. It is a policy I strongly support.

Fully clothed cheerleaders

I ATTENDED a recent SEMO game and was pleased to see the cheerleaders were finally clothed. I have been going to the games for many years and am pleased to finally see some healthy looking, fully clothed girls. Maybe I will let my daughter aspire to be a cheerleader after all.

Raises are in order

THE PERSON who commented on working conditions at the Missouri Veterans Home is right. As someone who has worked there and at other nursing homes as well, the veterans home is hard work. Some of the women who work there have to stay over when others decide they aren't coming in to work, and they only get paid a set amount per month, regardless of hours worked. The veterans home is a very good establishment, and I commend the workers there for their caring sprits and the hard work they do every single day. They deserve a raise.

Stingy with taxes

CAPE GIRARDEAU superintendent Mark Bowles won't say so, but in essence the school district continues to face a bleak financial future because property owners won't put up enough local property tax money to improve the schools and then turn around and blame the school system for failing to provide a first-rate educational experience.

Dumbing-down process

DON SOIFER's thesis that the federal No Child Left Behind law is going through growing pains but will succeed is wrong on one vital count. Soifer says that dumbing down school standards by state legislatures in order to make scores look better will never be accepted by parents and voters. Want to bet? The dumbing-down process has already begun and will continue rapidly apace. Parents of school-age children want to feel good about their academic achievement. If the bar has to be lowered to elicit that feeling, so be it. If voters of non-school-age children or others who have what Soifer calls a stake in the schools try to get in the way of what amounts to dumbing down reform, they will face angry parents who will seek vengeance worse than the wrath of God.

Discretion for judges

THE "HARSH sentencing" editorial from the San Jose Mercury News was absolutely correct. If Justice Rehnquist, of all people, believes Congress has gone too far on limits to federal judges' discretion, this is worthy of our attention.

Insidious proposal

PRESIDENT BUSH'S immigration proposal is insidious and motivated by base political considerations.

Aimed at Hispanics

PRESIDENT BUSH remembers 9-11. That's why his new immigration policy is a pander to the Hispanic community, and will likely only allow immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Rest assured, immigrants from countries with smaller voting bases here in the United States will continue to be turned away.

Thanks to military

THANK YOU to all the men and women who serve, protect and honor our country. You are the people who make the United States a wonderful place to be.

Make Cape fun

I THINK that instead of building so many churches and banks and restaurants in Cape Girardeau that we should focus on family entertainment and make Cape as fun as St. Louis. There is nothing to do here on the weekends except eat, bowl or see a movie. Let's all think about that and see what we can come up with.

Impact on employers

IF THE residents of Cape Girardeau do not want the school board to raise taxes, then the board will cut teachers. Without those teachers, students will spiral down to unacceptable levels, placing Cape Girardeau on the map as a city with a weak school system. Then we will see what corporations are willing to bring companies to this town. What company will be able to convince employees to move to Cape Girardeau, a city with a declining school system?