Do year-round schools cost, or save, money?

To the editor:

The reason the Clark County School District ended year-round schools was to save money, yet now the district and School Board are saying (threatening?) they need to go back to a year-round schedule because of the failure of their tax-increase proposal.

The elimination of year-round schools saved money on bus transportation, staff for the lunch program, air conditioning during summer months, higher salaries for the principals along with the specialist teachers who were needed year-round: art, music, physical education, computer technicians, librarians, special education, GATE and instructional coaches.

Further, these teachers were allowed vacation days during their year-round schedules, which required hiring a substitute teacher to cover their time off, at more expense to the school budget.

TAMI HUGGINS

LAS VEGAS

Unions get it all

To the editor:

In reference to your Friday editorial, "No new taxes," on the rejection of Question 2:

It's the teachers unions, stupid! We are incensed that our School Board has disregarded its financial responsibility to maintain school properties and has instead given generously, under heavy pressure from the unions, to the school teachers' salaries what should have been used for repairs.

Why would we give the School Board more money to squander before we change the system that allows bad behavior? Trustees will keep making poor decisions.

The immediate solution is to block off maintenance funds so they cannot be used for salaries. Our bigger problem, however, is to get rid of teachers unions if we are to have any hope of improving the education of our children in Nevada.

In an effort to protect their constituents' financial interests, the unions try to block every attempt to improve our educational system for our children. Their interests and those of Nevada's parents are not aligned, and never will be.

TERRY JONES

HENDERSON

Missed deadline

To the editor:

We did receive a voter registration application from the Department of Motor Vehicles for Warren McCallister (Saturday letter to the editor) that was dated Oct. 15. The last day to register for the Nov. 6 general election without appearing in person at the Election Department was Oct. 6.

After Oct. 6, there was a 10-day period where people could still register, but only by appearing in person at the Election Department. There was no computer error, as Mr. McCallister's letter insinuates.

Unfortunately, Mr. McCallister submitted his application after the registration deadline and therefore, in accordance with the laws in the state of Nevada, was ineligible to participate as a Clark County resident in the Nov. 6 general election.

LARRY LOMAX

LAS VEGAS

The writer is the Clark County registrar of voters.

Tax the union

To the editor,

After reading again of the teachers union's push to force a new tax on business, two questions came to mind.

Can the union do this? It doesn't represent taxpayers, citizens or even all teachers, but only its own interests.

Does this mean the state's business owners could, with enough signatures, get a petition to the Legislature demanding a special tax on the teachers union to repay business and taxpayers for the billions wasted on education, as evidenced by our last-in-the-nation ranking?

DALE SWANSON

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Curious resignation

To the editor:

So CIA chief Gen. David Petraeus resigns, allegedly over some tawdry affair with his biographer that ended months ago. Really? Does that sound likely? I thought Democrats had no problem with executives having extramarital sex. A least that was the explanation for the lack of response to President Bill Clinton's escapades.

Isn't it more likely that Gen. Petraeus saw live video from Benghazi and readied a rescue response, only to be told repeatedly by the commander in chief to stand down?

Gen. Petraeus is an excellent soldier and it's unlikely he could stand down while his compatriots were being murdered by the enemy. I suggest that being ordered to allow good people to die rather than rescue them was more than Gen. Petraeus could stomach and he resigned.

Would not this "scandal" be the least damaging way for the Obama regime to spin his leaving his position as director of the CIA and avoid talking about Benghazi at all?

Will the mainstream lapdog media poke around to find out the truth? Don't be silly.

RONNIE GARNER

HENDERSON

Lips sealed?

To the editor:

Gen. David Petraeus resigned from the CIA. Now he won't be able to testify at the Benghazi hearings. Too bad. We would have gotten the truth from him.

JENNIE CECE

MESQUITE

Off by six weeks

To the editor:

You have to admire the Mayan civilization. They set up their calendar thousands of years ago, predicting the end of civilization as we know it on Dec. 21, 2012.

I admit when I first heard about it years ago I was just as skeptical as everyone else, but looking at the world around us, they did a fantastic job. They were only a month and a half off on their prediction - Nov. 6, 2012.

RON KIRBY

LAS VEGAS

Polite kids

To the editor:

For the first time since moving to Las Vegas 16 years ago, I was truly surprised, and impressed, with the children, young and old, who stopped for Halloween goodies at my home this year. Every single one of them, a total of 67, said thank you to me after I dropped a treat into their bag.

The cutest of the lot was a young boy, maybe 3 or 4 years of age. When I asked "What do you say?" instead of "Trick or treat," he replied "Por favor."

JUDITH G. HOLMAN

LAS VEGAS

Getting better?

To the editor:

Ed Vogel's Saturday report, "Bright fiscal forecast for state," normally would cheer me up as I sip my morning coffee. However, in the same edition of the Review-Journal, these other headlines shouted out at me: "More industrial space vacated than leased in third quarter in LV Valley"; "Stratosphere parent lowers third-quarter net loss"; "Las Vegas Monorail marks another ridership decline"; "Cosmopolitan again cuts loss," and, to top it all off, the Sports page reminded us of the Rebels' 20-game road skid in football.

It makes me wonder if I am reading the same paper these economic gurus are reading.

JIM ANDREAS

LAS VEGAS