Brookfield board making cuts that harm students

Brookfield board making cuts that harm students
EDITOR:
After attending the Brookfield school board meeting last week, I must say that I have been extremely upset and frustrated by the events unfolding in our township.
I learned on Wednesday that our speech teacher (Sue McBride) was given a "reduction in force" letter. My son came home from school that day crying over the news. Maybe in the opinion of the board this person is expendable but in my opinion she is not. Mrs. McBride has gone above and beyond the call of duty. For those of us with students receiving speech services, we can tell you that these are vital to our children. Speech teachers are not simply people in a classroom helping a child to pronounce words correctly; they work with children to improve their communication skills on many levels. Speaking clearly is just the beginning!
Mr. Notar stated that "any reductions will not affect the students." Really, well if you had seen my son come in crying from school, you would think otherwise.
Mr. Notar also stated that our district would be contracting with the Trumbull County Educational Service Center for speech service. Well, first, I would certainly think it would have been wise to verify that a speech teacher will be available from the county in the fall. Last fall when our district went to the county for a temporary speech teacher there was no one available for this position. How do we know there will be a person available in the fall? Second, at the per diem rate of approximately $400 and based on the current school calendar, has the district considered that this will cost approximately $71,000.? This is assuming that a speech teacher will even be available to our district. If not, then the students are entitled to seek these services elsewhere, and the district is required to reimburse for the services and for the expenses for transporting the students to receive these services. If the board is thinking of cutting back on the days or reducing the time, have they considered that the students receiving speech services have Individualized Education Plans? When a student has an IEP, it addresses such accommodations as speech services, occupational therapy, class size and many more. The IEP dictates these accommodations and services that the student is to receive in order to help them meet their educational goals. Has the board considered that violating the IEPs is illegal? How are the needs to be met for these children who are entitled to a free appropriate education?
Everyone in this district understands the need to review our expenses, but to make the statement that "any reductions will not affect our students"? You need only to ask them, and they will tell you it does.
JUDY RADACHY
Masury
Intelligent Design is as much science as evolution
EDITOR:
A March 2 letter to the editor (Which edition is infallible?) states, "Evolution deals with facts." Evolution is an hypothesis that attempts to explain the facts.
With this in mind, Paul Johnson, a noted British historian, noted in the New York Times Aug. 28, 2005: "To anyone who has studied the history of science and noted the chances of any substantial body teaching -- based upon a particular hypothesis or set of observations -- surviving the erosion of time and new research intact, it is inevitable that Darwinism, at least in its fundamental form, will come crashing down...I detect a groundswell of discontent at this intellectual totalitarianism, so unscientific by its very nature."
In view of this, Intelligent Design has a rightful place in the science curriculum.
Msgr. JOHN P. ASHTON, PH.D
Pastor, St. Lucy Church
Campbell