Letters to the editor: Unions are a problem; trash suggestions; Cheney a hero

Teachers’ unions control boards

Re: CalMatters’ story, “Parent revolt: California Republicans bet big on local school board races”:

I applaud the efforts of the GOP to target local school board races, but not for the reasons people may think.

California school boards have long flown under the radar of the public’s attention, as many working parents are so involved in their daily working lives, keeping their heads above water, and getting their children where they need to be for extracurricular activities, that they truly don’t have time to think about it. I would fathom a guess that most parents don’t even know what their local school board does or how much power they have over their children’s daily lives and their own. But the unions do.

School boards are responsible for designing and implementing policy for their local school district, negotiating with teachers’ unions, approving budgets and delegating funds, approving curriculums, assessing compliance with policy standards, setting the school calendar and community advocacy. For decades, the teachers’ unions have been aware of this and most school boards in California are populated with union plants. They do this because they want to have control over all levers of power at every level of public education.

Remember, teachers’ unions are not concerned about the well-being of your child, they exist for the singular purpose of advocating in the best interests of their dues-paying members. By controlling the school boards, they control contract negotiations with guess who? The unions. In addition, these unions donate heavily to the campaigns of superintendents who they believe will oversee the implementation of their vision.

So why do I care that the GOP are targeting these races? Because they are getting more parents involved and those parents are the only ones holding the line and representing their children’s best interests, not the unions.

Now get out there and vote and advocate for you children.

Alan Garner, Camarillo

Suggestions for trash hauler

Re: Nan Drake, George Harrison and Bill Camarillo’s Aug. 14 guest column, “Food for thought on recycling”:

This is a very informative article, and we have a suggestion for Ventura County or our local trash hauler: Provide small waste pails with lids to go under the sink. Have the size of the pails where the free supermarket fruit/vegetable bags can line the pails. This is especially needed for older folks who don’t go to outdoor garbage cans often.

Points to consider:

• Waste pails with lids to keep out gnats, flies, and aunts

• Dishwasher safe

• Lids easy to get open

• Maybe a couple sizes of pails

• Someway to secure the plastic bags when first placed in pail

Darel and Linda Scoggin, Oxnard

Liz Cheney deserves admiration

Right now, there is no one in public life that l admire more than Rep. Liz Cheney. Her sacrifice and courage are true portraits in courage and a patriot. I truly hope her future will shine on.

Karen Murphy, Oxnard

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Unions are a problem; trash suggestions; Cheney a hero