Regarding The Courier's March 10 article about the AP U.S. History class at Lynbrook, I wish to bring your attention three problems areas.

Expectations between teacher and the students--A good school educator should not only encourage good learning experience but advise the students if they should drop the class so they can drop it in time.

Wrong advice from school--Students received incorrect information from school regarding dropping the course in November.

No communication between the school and parents--most parents received absolutely no communication from school about their child's problem in the class.

The mission statement from FUHSD states: "To develop resources and community relationships for the advancement of quality education in the Fremont Union High School District."

It appears to me the school did not provide a good faith quality education in the AP History class or build good community relationships.

The article in the Courier quotes Lynbrook principal, Mike White as saying, "Most of the students would have been denied access to the course if a true screening system were in place." The article also says that White found a majority of the students who received a D in the class had common characteristics:

They'd earned a "B" in world literature or world history last year. Their total GPA is below 3.5 for ninth and 10th grade. They are currently enrolled in four honors or AP courses this year. and their grades are lower in other honors or AP courses this year.

I strongly disagree with this statement. As a good educator, Mr. White should not discourage and insult students. As a parent, I'm not sure if this is a valid statement or not because my child received straight A's in all her classes last year including world literature and world history.

Michael Lu

Cupertino

CCC sabotages work with ill-conceived initiatives

If residents were to believe claims of the CCC, Cupertino is threatened by what they call "high density, high rise" development. While there are some higher buildings at De Anza and Stevens Creek, approved many years ago in response to residents' desire for a downtown in Cupertino, there are no other proposals for taller buildings currently under consideration.

Housing densities have gone up throughout the Bay Area in response to market forces and the extremely high cost of land. When surveyed, most Cupertino residents favor additional housing, particularly affordable housing. The CCC agenda would sharply limit affordable housing.

The group also characterizes the city council as refusing to listen to residents' concerns.

However, the facts are that last year the CCC asked for additional time and input into the General Plan, and its request was granted. The city has held numerous public meetings, a community congress, as well as conducting regular scientific surveys.

Partially in response to the request of the CCC leaders, the council convened a task force made up of 70 Cupertino residents. After months of work and many meetings, that group has issued its recommendations, in the form of a majority report and a minority report.

Now the process of developing a General Plan will proceed to the planning commission and then the city council, including several more public hearings.

Unfortunately, the CCC leaders, including many who sat on the General Plan Task Force, are now short-circuiting the process and sabotaging their own work with three ill-conceived initiatives.

Rather than seeing the process through and looking at the entirety of the General Plan, the CCC has decided that its vision must be rushed to the ballot, with either a special election (over $250,000) or a regular election (about $80,000).

It is certainly within the right of the CCC to attempt to place initiatives on the ballot. However, the careless use of the democratic process would burden all of our citizens with unintended but very real consequences. I would urge the CCC to work within the process it asked for and not short-circuit it.

Dolly Sandoval

Cupertino Councilwoman

Initiatives will not
prevent city growth

The Concerned Citizens of Cupertino was formed to address important city issues that impact the quality of life in Cupertino. When the Cypress Hotel and Verona Apartments on the corner of Stevens Creek and De Anza boulevards were being considered, most of us were unaware of the scope of the projects.

If we had been better informed, we may have taken more action. It is difficult to find the time or energy to attend every city planning meeting and/or city council meeting as well as all the different commission meetings that are held weekly. We expect to hear about the big issues through our local newspapers or our city newsletter, the Cupertino Scene. What we usually get is a very small one time notice in the legal section of the Courier, which we need a magnifier to read or an agenda item in the Scene for which we need a lawyer to interpret.

Most issues or developments have already been drawn up, discussed with advocates and practically decided upon by council members before the citizens have an opportunity to speak about their concerns. It is very difficult at that point to change the minds of city officials.

Since this has become such a problem in our city, the CCC felt it was necessary to address this by putting three initiatives on the ballot. These initiatives will not prevent growth in our city. They will address the heights, density, and setbacks within which such growth may occur. The purpose of the initiatives is to make it necessary for projects outside the initiative standards to be brought before the citizens for a vote rather than the vote of only three council members because that is all it takes to approve a development. We want to have a say on any development that might change the character of this city and therefore, the quality of life of its citizens.

As planned by the CCC, the standards are very reasonable for future city growth and there are exceptions for the Vallco area to encourage its development and growth as a city center.

We invite everyone interested to visit our website at www.cupertino.cc to follow developments regarding the initiatives. Once the city attorney has completed his work and gives the initiatives their Titles and Summaries, they will be printed as a public notice in the paper and a copy will be on our website for viewing. We will then begin collecting signatures to get the initiatives on the ballot in November. We encourage all citizens to read these initiatives.

Penny Whittaker

Cupertino

In the March 17 article "PIOs are first responders too," the Courier incorrectly named the middle school where students had plotted to burn some of the buildings. The correct name is Cupertino Middle School.