The Cupertino Courier

Letters

Dave Voss says thanks

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to everyone for your nomination, support and the honor of being chosen as one of the two Cupertino Citizens of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

David Voss
Cupertino

Good government, not buzzwords, needed

When I received my recent sample ballot, I carefully studied the City Council candidate statements along with the forum printed in the Oct. 22 article in The Courier entitled "Who to Choose?" When I finished reading the political prose, my head was swimming in political buzzwords: Let's work together, volunteerism, manage resources, fair and honest, against monster homes, improve traffic, rejuvenate business, integrity, improve schools, put neighborhoods first, ad nauseam.

Election after election I read the same rhetoric. And after the fuss dies down, we are back to business as usual: political knee-jerkism. In vain, I searched for someone who was interested in you, in me--you know, we, the voters. I wanted to hear someone say, "I will work to lower your taxes," or "I will work to reduce city red tape in getting building permits," or "I will search out and remove restrictive paperwork and regulations that stifle business, jam up traffic, reduce personal freedom, hinder law enforcement, etc." A candidate who believes that people can only be the best that they can be when they are not hindered by government liberal bureaucracy will get my vote and my support. But, alas, there was not one. Just same-o, same-o, same-o. And there will be no one as long as the good citizens of Cupertino do not demand a real change. How 'bout it, neighbors? Good government, anyone?

R. Bowlby
Cupertino

Year-round education makes sense for CUSD

Mr. Wayne Huang of Kennedy Junior High School recently wrote in opposition to year-round schools (The Courier, Nov. 5). Wayne can relax a little, because I don't believe that year-round junior highs are under consideration, just elementary schools. Nevertheless, I'd like the Cupertino Union School District to give Wayne, his friends and family a chance to learn more about multitrack year-round education, because then they might actually feel a lot better about it, and even be sorry they missed it. Year-round education is widely considered to be a better education because students don't have to spend so much time reviewing everything they forget over a long summer break.

Furthermore, the district tells me that Wayne and his friends could request the same schedule, and more than 85 percent of them would get one of their first two choices. In any case, I know a lot of children who actually complain about the long vacations we have now because they don't get to see their friends as much as when they are in school. Most of us don't take vacations out of town longer than about three weeks at a time, anyway, and every track would have a three-week break during the summer, so planning vacations shouldn't be all that difficult for families with children on traditional schedules.

Regardless of finances, everyone should consider carefully the overwhelming advantage of multitrack year-round education. By fully utiliizing the school facilities which have been renovated using Measure A bond funds, the multitrack schedule actually makes many more rooms available than would be needed for both third-grade class-size reduction and enrollment growth. Thus, multitrack year-round schooling eliminates the need for reopening schools and/or adding modular classrooms for, say, $5 million to $15 million, much of which would have to be raised from additional taxes. Because additional rooms would actually become available year-round, the schedule would enable the district to implement additional year-round programs, such as increasing the amount of day care available on campus or adding specialty classrooms.

Graham Skinner
Cupertino

Group building strong foundation for library

A few days ago I was browsing at the bookstore for holiday gift ideas. I don't mind telling you I was shocked at the prices of hard-cover books. John Grisham's latest bestseller was priced at $26.95, and just about everything I picked up was $25 or more.

Boy, I said to myself, aren't we lucky to have our wonderful library? Its doors are open seven days a week. And, best of all, it's free.

I have to admit, it's easy for me to borrow books from the library. As president of the Cupertino Library Foundation, I'm there a lot, because we are a hands-on volunteer board.

We started the foundation in 1994 because we were concerned about the future of our library. Our goal then, as now, was to create a source of private revenue from individuals and businesses to help ensure the library's financial stability. That is our only purpose.

The Library Foundation has raised more than $20,000. Some of this money has been used for a variety of special projects, such as more story times for children and restoring magazine subscriptions dropped due to budget cuts in 1994.

Recently, the foundation started an endowment fund. With the help from the community, this fund will grow and provide support for our library's future.

I hope that you'll join me in making a year-end contribution to the Cupertino Library Foundation. For as little as the price of one book, you'll be investing in the future of our library. To contribute, send donations to Cupertino Library Foundation, 10300 Torre Ave., Cupertino, 95014.

James Orloff
Cupertino

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