Opinion Page

 

Letter to Editor (Post Star and Saugerties Times, 3-27-08)

 

 Is Lanny Out of Touch?

 

I think Mr. Walter is a bit out of touch when he tries to contort an event that is indicative of this new board's commitment to our school district. The fact is that this board cares. The president, Mr. Tucker, and the vice president, Mr. Heidcamp, actually listened to complaints made by a variety of sources and took the time to look into the issue first hand. Rather than act on their own, they chose to present their findings to the entire board so the board as a whole could be well informed. They did not skip over anyone. The Administrators were present as well as representation from W.B. Marx. In addition, Mr. Zandonella answered some of the concerns raised. All in all, it was a very informative presentation for both the board and the general public. I, along with many other people was there. Where was Lanny? As anyone who has attended meetings of prior boards can attest, the dissemination of information was not something they particularly cared for.

Furthermore, Mr. Walter mentions how this problem was known to exist for many years. Some of those years were while he served on the board. He and the other board members at the time failed to do anything comprehensive about the problem.

Rather, our school buildings fell further into decay. We have a great custodial staff but they can do just so much. The previous boards failed to make preventative maintenance and general upkeep a priority and thus denied the resources necessary to keep our buildings in reasonable repair. So why condemn the current board for trying to do what Mr. Walter failed to accomplish? One could speculate that he is either remarkably out of touch or just simply jealous. The fact is that the current board under the guidance of president Tucker have accomplished more in the past year than any board prior. As Mr. Walter points out, the school board election is coming. We need more people on the board like Mr. Tucker and Mr. Heidcamp.

Tom Ham

Saugerties