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Find alternatives to education layoffs
The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is proposing layoffs for nearly 300 employees — about a quarter of its workforce — including early childhood educators, special educators and mental health counselors. These layoffs target those working with our most vulnerable students.
SCCOE’s annual budget exceeds $360 million, with a positive budget certification through 2027. A recent independent audit gave SCCOE the strongest possible financial rating.
Yet, while frontline workers face layoffs, spending on consultants has doubled to $65 million and legal costs have surged by the millions without clear justification.
Other county offices facing similar federal funding uncertainty have not gutted their programs, showing that stability and planning are possible. We must follow this example.
With a new superintendent arriving this week, now is the time to pause and explore every possible alternative. The proposed layoffs should be reversed and rejected to ensure that students, families and staff are supported.
Kathleen King, Tara Sreekrishnan and Claudia Rossi Current and former members of the Santa Clara County Board of Education
Public broadcasting’s budget must be saved
Tax cuts that will benefit billionaires don’t justify cuts to national public media.
The small amount NPR and PBS receive from U.S. taxpayers, about $1.50 per resident, offers great benefits for its small cost. It is an example of each of us contributing a small amount and getting good quality, balanced, honest news and cultural reporting that benefits all. Public media reaches places that don’t have local radio and TV. It is solid reporting with Republican and Democratic voices heard.
I personally only listen to public media. Commercial news is brief and noisy with advertisements. As time goes on, it is more and more profitable for it to be filled with dishonest, provocative stories rather than the laying out of factual news.
Mary Boyle Sunnyvale
Treasury should share truth about tariffs
It’s about time someone starts telling the truth about who’s paying the tariffs. Notice that the government doesn’t list who’s paying the tariffs. If other countries were paying the bulk of them, the government would list the amounts by country and scream them from the rooftops. But since U.S. companies and consumers are paying the bulk of them, the administration won’t show that.
The Treasury Department reports the department’s daily statement of total deposits listed under “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” on the department’s FiscalData webpage. They could have easily shown the huge amounts Trump claimed the countries would pay, if it wouldn’t embarrassingly show that U.S. citizens and companies are paying the lion’s share.
We should insist that Treasury report the source of the tariffs daily.
Barry Jackson San Jose
Trump and his policies are definition of cruelty
On-off, on-off, suspended for a while — tariffs, deportations, visas, etc., affecting students, judges, babies, small businesses, health care, medical research and colleges, to name a few.
The first thing that comes to mind is the cruelty of the current administration. So I looked up the definition of a cruel person. Here is one: “Cruel people may enjoy causing others pain or suffering, either physically or emotionally. They may use insults or belittling language to diminish others and make themselves feel superior. They may be quick to anger and lash out at others for perceived slights or wrongdoings.”
Remind you of anyone?
Robert Feigelson Saratoga
Russia started path to Ukraine war
Re: “Ukraine war a road we shouldn’t have taken” (Page A6, April 29).
Regarding Mike Caggiano’s letter, I wholeheartedly agree, assuming “we” in that sentence means the Kremlin.
Specifically, Russia’s underhanded provocation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine starting in 2014, and their deceitful interpretation of the two Minsk agreements to justify their illegal invasion are two roads their government should never have taken. But they did. Caggiano seems confused, however, that Ukraine was in any way obligated to “suspend all thought of NATO membership” under these agreements, which is untrue even in the most overly generous, pro-Russian interpretation.
Scott Best Palo Alto
Sexual assault demands immediate response
Re: “Bay Area woman says she was groped on flight out of SFO” (Page B1, April 29).
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