In favor of Measure B
EDITOR: We are lucky to live in a community with great public schools. I have served on the board of the High School district for 14 years, and I am proud of the educational opportunities we offer our students. Unfortunately, our district does not receive enough money from the state and federal governments to support these great programs. Our district also suffers from declining enrollment because fewer families can afford to live in the west county. The direct impact of declining enrollment is less money from the state for our district. The solution is clear — please vote yes on Measure B on the March 3rd ballot. A yes vote on the Measure B parcel tax goes directly into the classrooms at Analy, El Molino and Laguna high schools. The money generated from Measure B stays local and will be used to maintain art, music and career technical education classes; to keep our libraries open; and to support teacher salaries. Join me on March 3rd, and vote yes for Measure B. For more information visit, friendsofwscuhsd.org.
Kellie Noe
Trustee, West Sonoma County Union High School District
Sebastopol
Build a firm foundation for education
EDITOR: Building a society is like building a house: the foundation must be strong or it will fall. West Sonoma county voters have the opportunity to support the foundation of our community on March 3rd. The passage of Measure B will not only support needed programs at El Molino, Analy and Laguna high schools but will show our teens we care that they become positive, contributing members of our society. The message to our students is all too clear when we fail to fund education.
Our teens are role models for us as much as we are for them. They learn to become community leaders when they emulate the leadership qualities modeled by their teachers. They learn about an honest day’s work when they practice over and over again for band, dance, plays and choral concerts. They want to do a good job because they want us to be proud of them.
“Think globally, act locally” is a phrase of wisdom that must be practiced if we are to maintain our wonderful community and sustain our local economy. Investing in our children encourages them, as our future workers and neighbors, to make positive contributions to our society now and in the future.
Please join me in voting for Measure B on March 3rd.
Diane Landry
Trustee, West Sonoma County Union High School District
Another voice for Measure B
EDITOR: Excellent opinion piece (“About Saving Small Town USA: Why you should vote yes on Measure B,” Feb. 20). Thank you, Carmen, for such a finely crafted and heartfelt piece of writing. I think you are absolutely correct that fine and well-supported schools are the keystones to healthy communities. Californians are desperate for well-funded, community-supported schools as our public school system is woefully underfunded due to Prop. 13. I support Measure B. I also support the Schools and Communities First initiative which closes the commercial loophole in Prop. 13 and will bring $12 billion back to public education in the state and around $180 million to Sonoma County. This legislation will not impact any residential real estate and is targeted toward real estate corporations, which essentially are getting a tax subsidy and have been for the last 40 years. It’s time we returned these funds back to our public schools and made the investment in our common future rather than some CEO’s bank account. California used to have the gold standard in public education; it was a model for the United States. We have excellent teachers and good resources. I think we can restore our schools to their former glory if we invest in them. Thanks again for such an excellent piece.
Kate Haug
Sebastopol
Misdirecting Measure W money
EDITOR: Alanna Brogan (Palm Drive Executive Director) is still jockeying to misdirect Measure W money that was intended for our former hospital. Her continuing efforts to use significant Palm Drive property tax revenues for purposes other than paying down the staggering debt for the hospital we no longer own takes real cojones. Taxpayers are fed up with this kind of in-your-eye diversion of our tax dollars to suit bureaucrats’ personal interests. Most of us will vote no on every tax measure until this kind of back room misappropriation of our money stops. Shame on Brogan, who is supposed to be focusing her time on the Palm Drive district dissolution, not finding more surreptitious ways to spend our money. The district board should fire her and get on with the dissolution.
Nancy Hair
Sebastopol
Drowning in debt
EDITOR: What family writes hefty checks to their favorite health nonprofits when they’re drowning in personal debt and have just come through bankruptcy, requiring sale of their home at well below market value? What family in this situation has “extra money” to give away, no matter how deeply altruistic or moral? Continued chronic spending or donating, when faced with overwhelming debt is a serious disease in itself, a recognized mental health disorder. So when Ms. Alanna Brogan, executive director of Palm Drive Community Hospital District (sans hospital), says there is “extra money” to the tune of $700,000 to spend from the public trough of our property taxes for a hospital that was sold it behooves us to seriously question this practice and behavior, no matter what her intent. (“Saving Gravenstein Health Action,” Sonoma West, Feb. 20, 2020) Shouldn’t this perceived “extra money” be applied to pay off the estimated $28 million and growing debt (due to Ms. Brogan’s expenditures and salary) immediately. Ms. Brogan et. al may believe she is behaving correctly, but I suggest this is delusional and wrong 1) per our public vote on Measures G and W, and 2) per the subsequent successful detachments of so many, through LAFCO, based on managerial malfeasance, including our largest one-time donor recipient, Bodega Bay Fire District (BBFD) community. Indeed, delusion, dishonesty, a need to gain control and poorly managed urges are just a few of the symptoms at the root of an enormous and growing compulsive spending disorder leading to gross social and financial difficulty. Sound familiar?
When our PDCHD brings a repeated public criticism such as “stem the bleeding,” “put a stake in it,” and “pull the plug,” it is time for Ms. Brogan et. al to seek funding for her hospital fund donations elsewhere. We are very aware of community health needs, and many of us donate personally when fiscally feasible. But with just the example of our largest donation above, which was $40,000, not the stated $42,000, to the BBFD as “paramedic training,” this is a stretch per the Fire Chief 2015 letter to the BBFD Board, as beneficial an operation as the BBFD is. But again, that BBFD community detached, seeing financial malfeasance early on. As a result they pay $105 versus our $155. Somehow we missed the deep appreciation of our tax donation there.
The board voted to dissolve itself last month at the urging of the public. It was a unanimous vote by those elected. If those elected could now please direct their staff manager Ms. Brogan and her assistants, to help draw up the needed resolution ASAP to heal the community, stem this further bleeding and bring financial order to this district’s disorder, it would be most appreciated.
Doug Emery
Sebastopol
UnSMART
EDITOR: The SMARTS train spent tens of millions for the Larkspur extension. Calls it a five-minute walk to ferries. Try walking the walk before you vote. As if catching a bus at the Whole Foods bus stop (train station) and walking in the dark/rain to Vets Building (Ferry Building) and waiting 30 minutes for a ferry boat connection is a viable commuter option. That plus the wink-wink from a SMART train ambassador who cannot ask to check for paid fairs — we rely on the “honor system.” Don’t put any more of the taxpayers lipstick money on this unSMART pig train debacle.
Neil Davis
Sebastopol
