Teacher’s missive is required reading

To the editor:

Hip-hip hooray to Eldorado High School teacher Joan Parks for writing -- and the Review-Journal for publishing -- a common-sense but hard-hitting critique of the Clark County School District ("Baby-sitting, bureaucracy carry the day," Sunday Viewpoints section).

My only suggestion would be that her missive be placed on the front page of the Review-Journal and that her observations and thoughts be featured on local radio talk shows and TV news segments. How much can the public take before the populace revolts from the utter mismanagement and the resulting failure of our local education system?

Please, do not lay the blame for this abject failure on already-overburdened teachers. The blame for wasted money (by the bushel basket) and lost talent of too many precious youngsters rests in the hands of a school district bureaucracy that has grown so bloated it can no longer see the bigger picture.

Excess bureaucracy is exposed, starting in the third paragraph of Ms. Parks' op-ed. Imagine, if you will, the number of non-teaching administrators and staff that it takes to fill the offices of the school district's "Taj Mahal" on West Sahara Avenue. Add to that the administrators and staff for the six regions. By Ms. Parks' count, each high school has from 11 to 19 non-teaching administrators plus a plethora of support staff. With all of that non-teaching manpower, the teachers are required to act as hall monitors and keep an eye on their incoming classes.

There is so much more to comment on, but my last criticism rests in the policy of moving underperforming children to the next grade level. This is criminal. This is a policy that turns potential into dependency. It morphs a future productive contributor to society into a future parasite.

Ron Ecklund

HENDERSON

Art museum

To the editor:

In response to your Dec. 4 article, "Director removes herself from art museum's financial woes":

As a resident and artist in Las Vegas for 16 years, I've closely observed the growth of the Las Vegas Art Museum. It grew despite its continuous failure to attract sufficient members of our population. The bottom line is that it grew only because Las Vegas grew.

The artists in Las Vegas are hungry for places to hang and display their works for the public to see. However, they want their work seen by the general public and not just other artists who bring their families and friends.

The Las Vegas Art Museum is in need of a new, dynamic and comprehensive approach to reach its potential in order to survive and grow the arts in Las Vegas. It needs a change of attitude much more than it needs money. It needs to understand the artist and also the public.

Sam Chinkes

LAS VEGAS

No quick bailout

To the editor:

I don't think the public at large understands how or when any federal public works improvements are going to help solve the current crisis. This isn't 1930.

Assuming Congress could even agree to allocate some billions of dollars this year, the question that remains is how does that money flow into the public works sector? The congressional budget cycle will take until next year before those funds could be released. This is not a bailout.

Each jurisdiction will have to submit its justifications, scope of work, cost and schedules to the funding source. Each bureaucracy will have its own time line to respond. When and if money is then allocated, there will be bids for engineering services, and when those items are complete, then construction services will go to bid.

So, possibly sometime in 2011, construction may start on some of the bigger projects. Because the Democrats are in charge, mostly union contractors will benefit from the new job creation.

I don't see how this is going to help some laid-off auto worker. Wrong union.

Edward Meigs

LAS VEGAS

Scenic run

To the editor:

In response to Sunday's Las Vegas Marathon, I write to complain about the routing of this momentous event.

If the "half marathon" is up the Strip and back again, wouldn't a full marathon be up and back two times?

But no, it has to be run off the Strip, out through scenic Las Vegas. North on Martin Luther King Boulevard (inspiring), then west on Carey Avenue (awesome), then south on Torrey Pines Drive (wow, what scenery), then east on Twain Avenue (breathtaking), and finally crossing under Interstate 15 to the finish line. Wow.

Now, to the road closures. Not to worry, our officials only inconvenience the locals in my area (Torrey Pines and Desert Inn Road) for 71/2 hours. That's right, race fans, from 5 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the road is closed.

Really, isn't there a better place to run the marathon?

Bill Wilderman

LAS VEGAS