Letters to the Editor

+ Year-round residents deserve better judgment
Dear Editor:
“A citizen called?” How many citizens have been run over at this intersection when you could turn on red?
I live on Siesta and have for the past 15 years. I sat and watched the bridge try to open for water traffic, but couldn’t because the traffic was solid across the bridge. More time wasted sitting in my car on the way to an appointment! Who were the blind people who made this decision on a “citizen phone call?” Maybe that citizen was a guest on Siesta?

Get real, we who live here and support our merchants all year long, expect and deserve better judgment than this one.

Now send the police to write tickets, that will be the kicker — especially after a 45-minute wait from U.S. 41 to Midnight Pass Road.
Dee Clark
Sarasota

+ Who’s minding the store?
Dear Editor:
How soon we forget. The budget for the Siesta Key Beach Renovation Project was originally approved by the County Commission for approximately $15 million. That budget grew unchecked by staff to its current $21.5 million level with even more items suggested by staff that were not included in the original program approved by the County Commission. This budget is characterized by excessive internal staff costs and estimates of construction costs so outrageously high that it even attracted the scrutiny and objections of the commission. Nevertheless, this budget was approved. Now guess what — the project is coming in “under budget” so now staff proposes using the “extra” funds to add all those goodies that staff, not commission, proposed during its reluctant prior approval. So what happen to the idea of simply spending less money at Siesta Key Beach if “savings” presented themselves so that other projects touted by the commission to lure the taxpayers into approving the surtax program could also be done? It would be interesting to review which of those projects were abandoned because of the amount of funds extracted for Siesta Key Beach.

Taxpayers always want to know who’s minding the store. Well, in this case it is not county staff and is certainly not the County Commission.
Stuart H. Barger
Sarasota

+ Schools have enough
Dear Editor:
Sadly, the citizens of Sarasota are, once again, being hornswoggled by the Sarasota County School Board and teachers’ unions. 

Despite having $500 million to run the Sarasota County public schools, the school board is asking voters to continue funding a $45 million-a-year, one-mill property tax. The election is Tuesday, March 25, with early voting underway now.

We should all support high-quality education for the good of our children and the future competitiveness of our country. But our public-school students already enjoy a high budget per student, and the generous pay and benefits of their teachers are already more than those of their private-sector counterparts.

Despite this, the school board and union representatives threaten dire classroom cutbacks, but say little about reducing expenses outside of teacher costs. Why are there fewer than 2,500 teachers in classrooms, out of almost 5,000 school employees?

The teachers’ unions are the T-Rexes of government-employees unions. Most public-school teachers and other government employees are forced to belong to unions, and a portion of their dues is earmarked for political contributions, over which they have no choice or control.

These coerced political contributions are then used by the union bosses to buy politicians, who then support policies favoring the unions, not the students. Example: Better education is one of the best ways to help promising young students out of poverty; poor families overwhelmingly support school-choice vouchers; politicians cynically oppose school vouchers because of opposition from teachers’ unions, the largest contributors to politicians.

Sarasotans have seen the values of homes decline about 30% in recent years, while our property taxes have not. Nor have the budgets or employment rolls of the various parts of our local government.

Let’s be clear: The teachers’ unions have huge influence over the school board. Our property taxes and special assessments are now about a $1 billion annually, with more than half earmarked for public schools. That’s for a population of only about 375,000 citizens. That’s almost $14,000 per student per year. Enough should be enough.

What’s more, let’s forget the substance of the argument and focus instead on the election process. Instead of holding this referendum at a regular November election time, the school board conducts this election in the spring when turnout typically is lower than in November elections. Four years ago, less than 18% of voters approved the tax.

The school board will say that everyone can vote, but if the school board believes in democracy, it should be encouraging voting by observing the conventional November schedule. While the school board will say the $45 million is well spent, the real issue is how the entire $500 million is being spent.

What can be done about this? One, voters can reject renewing the tax. Then, replace the school board with members who care about students, not unions; and hold these election when the turnout is greatest.
Arthur Urciuoli
Nokomis

+ G.WIZ now G.WAS
Dear Editor:
The loss of our science and technology center is a serious one. We need these kinds of places. 
Over the past 15-plus years, it offered countless exhibits and programs and touched hundreds of thousands of people. G.WIZ was a statement by our community that science mattered and was valued.
Science plays a critical role in our practical lives: It cures illness, helps us survive would-be fatal accidents; brought climate control, television and our beloved Internet.

Science centers and museums operate on a unique process in our brains. They change the way people perceive and understand phenomena by leveraging the affective (emotional) domain of learning, a powerful mechanism for motivation and appreciation. 

Science centers are petri dishes for budding engineers or doctors, where young minds, not just children, make sense of the world. They create opportunities to tinker, experiment and build. The G.WIZ Fab Lab was a fine example of this and was a direct statement and reminder that Americans still want and need to build things.

When the call comes, please support the next science and tech center through your time, money or influence. With no shortage of some of the finest cultural institutions in the area, Sarasota had only one place like G.WIZ, and I believe it can and must support a science center. Our future and our competitiveness depend on it.
Doug Perry
Director of exhibits and technology at G.WIZ, 2001-2008