> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Reader takes issue with recent editorial



I am dismayed by your editorial “Board has cheated public in search for superintendent” published last weekend. If your intent was to shame the board into different behavior, or to rile the public into a frenzy to insist that the board improve the superintendent search process, shouldn’t you have run this opinion a bit sooner? As bad as the timing is, the content is equally disappointing. Did you not have any staff at the meeting June 7?

To even mention the JumboTron issue after it was addressed last Thursday evening is poor form on your part. Dr. Andrew Melin was not involved in the purchase, and he initiated policy change at Valaparaiso schools to ensure that no such future purchases could be made without board approval.

You also show a lack of understanding of salary plus benefits. In your compensation comparison, you compare the proposed salary and benefits package for Melin versus the base salary enjoyed by Daeschner. Why have you elected to ignore the benefits in Daeschner’s package? Melin’s salary is to be $170,000 versus Daeschner’s $225,000, a $55,000 difference per year. Further, Melin’s benefits package is less than that paid to Daeschner. So the annual savings is definitely more than the median cost of a teacher.

Like the two unnamed last-to-know board members you mention, you seem to be hung up on the previous superintendent. Shall we talk about the search process that brought him here? The majority of the crew that led that fiasco has been ousted by the voting public.

Still, had the outside sources that promised to pay $75,000 of his $225,000 salary each year actually followed through on their commitment, the discussion might be different despite the personnel turmoil and graduation rate decline that followed.

I would much prefer reading that you see a personable, energetic leader coming to Greater Clark. It is important that the candidate worked years as a teacher and has the classroom at heart. And that with him comes a family that will have him even more personally invested with three children enrolling in Greater Clark.

Sure, some admonishment to the board urging them to not repeat certain past behaviors is fair. But your erroneous and misleading 11th-hour snipe from the bully pulpit is a cheap shot.

Perhaps you’re worried that smoother sailing around here would hurt newspaper sales.

— Terry Griffis, Jeffersonville



How the work of federal employees affects you

   

As a federal retiree, I wanted to share my story during these times when Congress and media are attacking federal employees’ salaries and depreciating their value to our society.

The first thing you should know about my 25 years of service to America as a federal worker is that I loved the job I did for my country. I retired from the V.A. Medical Center as a psychiatric social worker and counselor with chemically dependent and other veterans with mental issues.  

With the exception of astronauts and the SEAL’s team that caught Osama bin Laden, there aren’t many federal employees whose work is heralded in newspaper headlines.

Whether it’s our role to inspect spinach for traces of salmonella, open new international trade routes for U.S. companies to sell their products, patrol America’s borders or acquire the best equipment for our soldiers, a federal employee’s satisfaction comes from the knowledge that America is safer and stronger because we did our jobs.

There are thousands of federal workers right here in Metro Louisville area. Federal workers sound the alarm when a bad storm is coming; postal employees deliver the mail; air traffic controllers make the skies safer for you; the Census Bureau provides vital statistics to businesses; V.A. Medical Center provides medical services to veterans; Corps of Engineers secure our dams and prevent floods in our communities; Homeland Security prevents terrorism; Social Security delivers your grandmother’s monthly check; and Medicare pays her medical bills.

Unfortunately, in Washington, some politicians have repeatedly singled out the pay and benefits of federal workers. This year, Congress has debated plans to cut federal employee paychecks and jobs to offset the costs of the payroll-tax holiday and a major highway bill, and to prevent cuts in the Pentagon’s budget.

If Congress continues on its current path, it will destroy the proud legacy of the civil service.  As you encounter these federal workers in our community, I encourage you to let them know you appreciate the work they do on our behalf.

— Sylvia Savage, Greenville