Eugene weekly., March 17, 2011, Page 6, Image 6

letters
TO THE EDITOR
WASHING BRAINS
It’s extremely refreshing to read that,
after 25 years of lying about college
athletics, George Beres (letters, 3/3) is
now admitting how foolish he was in,
“brainwashing gullible fans into thinking
football was part of higher education.”
We’re all hoping that it doesn’t take him
25 years to realize how foolish he’s been
in trying to brainwash foolish EW and
Register-Guard readers into thinking
that the confl ict in the Middle East is all
Israel’s fault.
Dave Taube
Eugene
EVICTED FROM DIRT
For several years, I’ve maintained a
plot at the Lincoln School community
garden. As a disabled person suffering
form the effects of the removal of a brain
tumor and my pituitary gland, tending
this plot has given me hours of pleasure
and a feeling of purpose, and I have a
viewpoint
doctor’s letter attesting to the therapeutic
benefi ts gardening provides. My life isn’t
easy to manage due to the effects of my
disabilities, and my garden is one of the
few places I feel content.
Now I’m being evicted from the garden.
Despite diffi culties, I make every effort
to get out to my plot as often as possible,
sometimes with the help of friends.
I’ve received many compliments on my
garden. Some folks at the community
garden have several plots, many of which
are much more overgrown than mine. I’ve
been unfairly singled out, despite having
sent letters describing my situation. This
seems like discrimination. They know that
plot is important to me, but refuse to work
with me on remedying the situation.
I was born in Eugene, attended Lincoln
School and lived the most of my life in
the neighborhood near the garden. Now
a group of people who fail to recognize
my disabilities is ostracizing me. They’re
telling me to be out of the garden by March
12. An important part of my life is being
taken away from me, and I don’t know
what to do.
Joseph Lesiak
Eugene
WASTED EFFORT
As a small business owner and citizen of
this fi ne little city, I have some observations
regarding the ballot measure for an income
tax as a temporary aid to our schools.
Personally, I would love to see a ballot
measure win. But it is a waste of time
and money to throw something out there
that has no chance; or, if it does win, will
win by such a tight margin that a costly
challenge will ensue.
I see three problems with the measure
being discussed. People under a certain
income level are exempt from this new
tax, as are people outside Eugene who
have students in our schools. Also, PERS
recipients are exempt. It will not take
outside agitators to defeat this.
Suggestions: remember we are all
in this together, from the richest to the
poorest. If there is a progressive tax, there
should still be a minimum tax. A $10
annual tax is affordable to the poorest. If
you don’t have it, your child can do some
chores for someone who does. Likewise,
if your children attend our schools from
outside the city, stand up and chip in. To
you PERS recipients, many of you made
your money within the school system.
I feel certain you’d accept paying a fair
share of this tax.
If these issues are fairly solved, I will
put a big sign up on my business property
in favor of a tax measure. And we will win
the day.
Scott Landfi eld
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows, with priority given to
timely local issues. Please limit length to 200 words, keep
submissions to once a month, and include your address
and phone number for our files. E-mail to letters@
eugeneweekly.com fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251
Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
BY ROSCO CARON
Ratios Matter
We can’t ignore growing class sizes
EDITOR’S NOTE: These comments were spoken at
the kickoff of the Strong Schools Eugene campaign at
Kelly Middle School March 8.
I
have spent the last quarter century teaching
middle school. I taught in this school for the
past fi ve years. I loved being a teacher of
middle school students. I have had the privilege of
working with hundreds of hard-working, loving and
courageous parents and kids.
We are here today because we have been going
through the deepest economic crisis since the Great
Depression. These are extraordinary times. These
are times that demand that responsible adults
respond to the needs of their children and their
communities. That’s why we are here.
The responsible adults in the community have
responded in past years to save Eugene kids from
the worst damage to the schools. The federal
government helped all of the states, including
Oregon, make ends meet as revenues plummeted.
Those federal dollars are not available to our
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6 MARCH 17, 2011 EUGENE WEEKLY
Roscoe Caron recently retired after teaching in local middle schools for
almost 25 years. He and Jim Garcia were co-founders in 1996 of the
Ganas project, linking Latino middle school students with UO MEChA
students.
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SOUTH EUGENE
state this year, but our state’s
income is still way down. The crisis
for schools and kids is still on. These
are still extraordinary times.
There’s nothing left to give up if we want
a decent educational opportunity for our children.
We’ve already lost so very much during the
years I have been a teacher. I was a teacher before
Measure 5 passed and since it became law in 1990.
Since then:
• We have experienced years of loss of programs
and people: school nurses, counselors, shop
programs, numerous other elective programs, loss
of foreign language programs, art programs, and
music programs.
• We have experienced a number of years of
teachers having their wages frozen, taking wage
cuts, and increasing their monthly insurance
payments and out-of-pocket payments.
• We have experienced regular increases in class
size. This is the toughest. For those who think it
makes little difference, I’m here to tell you that ratios
matter: think of what happens if you go into a
big home improvement store and they only
have one or two staff members available
to help you. Do you get the best level of
service? Do you wind up wandering around
trying to fi gure it out on your own?
Ratios matter. Do you think many
private schools that wealthy families send
their kids to have 38 students in a class? No.
There are half that many kids in the classroom
because student-to-teacher-ratios matter. In those
classrooms the parents know their kids will have the
assistance they need when they need it. They don’t
have to wander around the store trying to fi gure it
out on their own.
There’s an economic crisis going on that was
not caused by 8-year-old kids. Their parents did
not cause it. School bus drivers did not cause it.
Kindergarten teachers did not cause it.
These are extraordinary times. These are the times
when history compels responsible adults to help the
next generation of students in their community to
have a decent education. It is up to all of us to rise to
the occasion. We must vote yes in May.
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