Letters to the Editor 5-28-15

Costly June ballot
Editor: Am I the only one who sometimes thinks I’m living in a parallel universe from the Board of Supervisors? The sneaky decision by the BOS left me scratching my head.
They have wasted $400,000 of our money to place their “Road Tax-Measure A” on the June ballot. I’d like to see this $400,000 spent on filling potholes or helping Sebastopol’s City Council fund a Llano Road-Occidental Road bypass study; not to raise the already-too-high and regressive sales tax. If passed, this exorbitant tax will further grind the poor and be in place for five long years, 2016 thru 2021.  
Bad roads, funding costly bridges and dredging the Petaluma River are commercial dilemmas that are nothing new. In 1859-1860 newly elected state senator Jasper O’Farrell tried hard to improve roads in Sonoma County, yet failed, because of no support from either the California Legislature or the federal government. But at least he was honest with the public.
Frank Baumgardner
Santa Rosa
Don’t wait
Editor: The facts are plain to see. Our roads are in a terrible state of disrepair. Supervisors have already spent millions of general fund dollars and have only been able to scratch the surface of what needs to be done for our well over 13,000 miles of road. I haven’t heard anyone who says they’re not supporting Measure A come up with a reasonable alternative. It just isn’t as simple as “finding money elsewhere.”
The truth is, the price tag will be a lot higher if we wait. Something needs to be done now. Considering the fact that almost two thirds of our roads are in poor or very poor condition, it’s clear there’s an urgency that simply can’t be ignored.
A quarter cent sales tax for five years, with annual audits to oversee how the money is spent is an easy choice for me. I’m voting yes on Measure A.
Denise Soza
Monte Rio
End standardized testing
Editor: I am a 17 year-old high school junior writing to ask your readers to contact their local school boards and urge them to boycott statewide, standardized tests. The Lagunitas School District in Marin County passed a boycott resolution on May 14 and other districts should follow their leadership on this important issue.
Standardized testing does not belong in our schools because these tests improperly compare students to each other, they divert funds to the testing industry, and they correlate with only one thing: family income.
Comparing children to each other despite different abilities instead of treating students individually is inherently destructive and unfair since students learn at different rates and in different ways.
Also, standardized tests cost local school districts like the Lagunitas School District around the country millions of dollars every year, which could be better spent on students.
Finally, the wealthier the student’s family is, the higher the standardized test score for that student. As family income of the student goes up, the average test score goes up, too. Nothing else increases scores: not “teaching to the test,” not hiring more teachers, and not smaller classes. Despite the clear link between income and scores, eliminating poverty is never the focus of attempts to raise scores.
I am the perfect example of a student who has thrived in an atmosphere without standardized tests. Please contact your local school board and encourage them to follow the Lagunitas and other brave school districts around the country and boycott standardized tests.
Dylan Escobar
Forest Knolls