[Vision2020] MSD Salaries and Jack Wenders' advertisement

[Saundra Lund]

Dear Melynda & Visionaries:

I, too, found myself wondering, "Why?"

In addition to the points you eloquently make, I've personally come to two
further conclusions based on my wonderings.

1)  Jack Wenders has more money than sense.

2)  Jack Wenders is desperate and seems to have a *very* low opinion of our
community if he thinks we'll fall for his attempt to confuse a FACILITIES
bond issue with MDS employee salaries.  This disingenuous attempt of his
seems to be some sort of perverted bait-and-switch ploy in which he seems to
think tossing salaries out there will make us "forget" that the issue at
hand has to do with FACILITIES.

Unlike some, I've actually been *in* the facilities in question more than
just a few times over the past decade or so, and I've tried to learn about
the problems and possible solutions by reading, researching, and talking to
those involved in all aspects of the process *rather than* just playing
around with numbers on paper and/or asking 11th hour questions.

It's no secret I support the bond, and it is my *sincere* hope come Tuesday
that our community will send an unmistakable message to Mr. Wenders that we
didn't fall for his shameful tactics.  I'm willing -- no, I'm looking
forward -- to put my money where my mouth is to provide adequate facilities
for our community's future:  our children.


Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Melynda Huskey
Sent: Thursday, 21 April 2005 1:01 AM
To: Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] MSD Salaries and Jack Wenders' advertisement

After seeing Jack Wenders' full page ad in the *Daily News*, I found myself
wondering over my knitting, "Why?"
 
First of all, school district employees' salaries don't have anything to do
with the upcoming levy--or any other matter of public conversation that I've
been aware of.  So it's not clear what the context is.
 
Second, although district employees' salaries are a matter of public record
(as was Jack's, back when he was working for the UI), in Moscow, we tend to
avoid public discussion of other people's finances.  It's not polite.  And
in a town this size (Vision 2020 to the contrary notwithstanding),
discretion and courtesy aren't just niceties--they're necessities.  Nobody's
dirty laundry is safe for long.
 
Third, if my impulses are even vaguely representative, the advertisement was
not helpful to the anti-public education cause.  As I scanned the list, I
saw the names of teachers like Nancy Ruth Peterson, who started me down the
road to a Ph.D. in English and a deeply satisfying professional life, and
Larry Verdal, who dragged me through ninth-grade algebra with infinite
patience.  I saw Kristine Fitze, who welcomed our daughter to kindergarten,
and to lifelong learning, with unmatchable skill, kindness, and creativity.
Martha Zirker and Sue Bowe, luminously gifted third- and fourth-grade
teachers; Carole Jones, who was the best resource-room teacher I've ever
seen, back when my brothers were stretching her to the limits of her
boundless capacities; Laurie Austin, who morning after morning greets
hundreds of children and parents by name at the door of McDonald School.
 
As I looked at those names, and subtracted $6000 from every number in the
"Cash Pay With Benefits" column (how many of us really count benefits as
income?), I was abashed.  I know the hours these men and women work--because
I've called them at home in the evenings to consult, to ask questions, to
get advice  I've seen them turn out for game after agonizing game, dance
after idiotic dance, carwash after carnation sale after play rehearsal after
band performance after Knowledge Bowl after Math Quest . . . I know what
they spend out of their own pockets, and the time that they devote to their
work.  They are not leeches on the body politic, for heaven's sake; they are
our neighbors, friends, and colleagues.  And if I also saw a name or two I
didn't remember so fondly--well, time heals all wounds, and I've given up
expecting sainthood in every member of any profession
 
If Jack Wenders intended to inflame my avaricious passions against these
folks, he badly misjudged his audience.  I can only attribute his behavior
to a rage against the district--and public education--so blind that he
doesn't care what injuries he inflicts on himself or his community in the
process of venting his spleen. 
 
Melynda Huskey