Salter was the worthy pick
Editor, Ceres Courier,
A simple response to "Where was input before name picked?," we were there. The recommendation forms were submitted by the April 20 deadline.
We should not have to attend, watch every move, and check every decision that the Ceres School Board makes. They were elected to do a job and we expect them to do what is right. Their decision to name the schools was not based upon their current policy. If you are going to make a decision, at least make sure that you follow your own policy, or change it prior to making a decision.
If the public had known about the meeting when the decisions were being made, then the constituents could have been there. I am not sure what media Mr. Welsh is referring to in his letter. I checked with the Ceres Courier editor twice to ascertain when the meeting times and place were publicized. Both times I was informed that the meeting information was not printed in the Courier. Wow. What a revelation - no wonder there was no one at the meetings.
The last time the five schools were named those meetings had a packed house, according to Board trustee Ingwerson. Obviously proper public notice for those meetings were made available to the public.
As Mr. Welsh states, "a primary factor being our personal knowledge of those recommended." Really? So all of the board members knew that Mr. Chavez never graduated from the eighth grade? Another revelation - they did not know who Wayne D. Salter is - a man whose family currently has been in Ceres for five generations! There were 13 recommendation forms, some with attachments, for Mr. Salter; were these never taken into consideration? Two other people got two recommendations each with the rest getting only one each, including Mr. Chavez. Obviously the people spoke, but were not heard.
Becki Nicholes,
Ceres
Inconsiderate to locals who served
Editor, Ceres Courier,
An open letter to the Ceres Board of Trustees:
As a former student of Ceres schools, K-12, and member of a family from which over 20 went through Ceres schools, as well as a career educator, I feel compelled to write to you today. I apologize in advance if I offend you by what I have to say but your decision to ignore the many deserving people who have made Ceres what it is today and name a school after Cesar Chavez is inconsiderate.
After graduating from Ceres High School in 1960, I went on to earn my undergraduate degrees and eventually a doctorate in educational administration. I recently retired as a school principal in the Bay area.
Board members who served before you faced the same decision as schools were added to the district and did not think it was necessary to look outside the community for a namesake. Were they mistaken or are you? Should they have not named a school after Virginia Parks, Walter White, Mae Hensley, Joel Hidahl, Sam Vaughn? Sinclear, LaRosa, or Adkinson? Did you run out of names of folks who contributed to the community? Or were there too many from which to choose?
By a vote of 5-2, you decided to keep the name of the third junior high school and not reconsider your decision. I commend Mr. Ingwerson and Welsh for their foresight. Why would the rest of you want to be remembered as the Board who departed from tradition? Maybe by the time the school is built a new board will be in place and the decision will be reconsidered, we can only hope.
Alberta (Turner) Freitas, EdD
CUSD owes explanation on mailers
Editor, Ceres Courier,
I am in recent receipt by means of the U.S. mail of a one-page double-sided sheet entitled "Board of Trustees District 3 Community Update." Immediately below this heading is a picture of the trustee for the district. The mailing address is addressed to "current resident(s)." I have been told that the residents of District 2 also received a mailer identical to the one I received except for the name and photograph of their trustee. According to various Courier articles, the trustees for both these districts (and District 5 and one at large) are up for re-election this November. Perhaps the residents of other/all Districts also received this mailer.
The mailer I received has a return address in the top left hand corner of Ceres Unified School District, P.O. Box 307, Ceres, CA 95307. The street address of the district is repeated in bold type at the bottom of the page with a phone number and email address.
Might someone please tell me and the other voters questioning the timing and need for this mailing who paid for this mass distribution and how much it cost. If it undeed "Updates" a prior document, when was the prior one sent? Were these "updates" sent to all the residents of the Ceres Unified School District? If not, to whom were they sent and why?
I imagine I am not the only voter in the CUSD who questions the need for and timing of these mailings and would appreciate explanation. Thank you.
Pat Cousins,
Ceres
Editor, Ceres Courier,
A simple response to "Where was input before name picked?," we were there. The recommendation forms were submitted by the April 20 deadline.
We should not have to attend, watch every move, and check every decision that the Ceres School Board makes. They were elected to do a job and we expect them to do what is right. Their decision to name the schools was not based upon their current policy. If you are going to make a decision, at least make sure that you follow your own policy, or change it prior to making a decision.
If the public had known about the meeting when the decisions were being made, then the constituents could have been there. I am not sure what media Mr. Welsh is referring to in his letter. I checked with the Ceres Courier editor twice to ascertain when the meeting times and place were publicized. Both times I was informed that the meeting information was not printed in the Courier. Wow. What a revelation - no wonder there was no one at the meetings.
The last time the five schools were named those meetings had a packed house, according to Board trustee Ingwerson. Obviously proper public notice for those meetings were made available to the public.
As Mr. Welsh states, "a primary factor being our personal knowledge of those recommended." Really? So all of the board members knew that Mr. Chavez never graduated from the eighth grade? Another revelation - they did not know who Wayne D. Salter is - a man whose family currently has been in Ceres for five generations! There were 13 recommendation forms, some with attachments, for Mr. Salter; were these never taken into consideration? Two other people got two recommendations each with the rest getting only one each, including Mr. Chavez. Obviously the people spoke, but were not heard.
Becki Nicholes,
Ceres
Inconsiderate to locals who served
Editor, Ceres Courier,
An open letter to the Ceres Board of Trustees:
As a former student of Ceres schools, K-12, and member of a family from which over 20 went through Ceres schools, as well as a career educator, I feel compelled to write to you today. I apologize in advance if I offend you by what I have to say but your decision to ignore the many deserving people who have made Ceres what it is today and name a school after Cesar Chavez is inconsiderate.
After graduating from Ceres High School in 1960, I went on to earn my undergraduate degrees and eventually a doctorate in educational administration. I recently retired as a school principal in the Bay area.
Board members who served before you faced the same decision as schools were added to the district and did not think it was necessary to look outside the community for a namesake. Were they mistaken or are you? Should they have not named a school after Virginia Parks, Walter White, Mae Hensley, Joel Hidahl, Sam Vaughn? Sinclear, LaRosa, or Adkinson? Did you run out of names of folks who contributed to the community? Or were there too many from which to choose?
By a vote of 5-2, you decided to keep the name of the third junior high school and not reconsider your decision. I commend Mr. Ingwerson and Welsh for their foresight. Why would the rest of you want to be remembered as the Board who departed from tradition? Maybe by the time the school is built a new board will be in place and the decision will be reconsidered, we can only hope.
Alberta (Turner) Freitas, EdD
CUSD owes explanation on mailers
Editor, Ceres Courier,
I am in recent receipt by means of the U.S. mail of a one-page double-sided sheet entitled "Board of Trustees District 3 Community Update." Immediately below this heading is a picture of the trustee for the district. The mailing address is addressed to "current resident(s)." I have been told that the residents of District 2 also received a mailer identical to the one I received except for the name and photograph of their trustee. According to various Courier articles, the trustees for both these districts (and District 5 and one at large) are up for re-election this November. Perhaps the residents of other/all Districts also received this mailer.
The mailer I received has a return address in the top left hand corner of Ceres Unified School District, P.O. Box 307, Ceres, CA 95307. The street address of the district is repeated in bold type at the bottom of the page with a phone number and email address.
Might someone please tell me and the other voters questioning the timing and need for this mailing who paid for this mass distribution and how much it cost. If it undeed "Updates" a prior document, when was the prior one sent? Were these "updates" sent to all the residents of the Ceres Unified School District? If not, to whom were they sent and why?
I imagine I am not the only voter in the CUSD who questions the need for and timing of these mailings and would appreciate explanation. Thank you.
Pat Cousins,
Ceres
