DENISE YAMAMOTO
Tujunga
Picketing at school was a misstep
The teachers of the Glendale Unified School District are the best teachers in the state. The teachers of the Glendale Unified School District deserve more money, they deserve better benefits. If the Glendale Unified School District wants the best, then they have to pay for it. I support the teachers in their quest for a better contract.
So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I arrived at my children's school for an open house at Mountain Avenue Elementary School and saw teachers parading around with picket signs.
This was our children's day to shine, and I feel it was a terrible misstep for you to picket this event. We know how valuable you are, so why would you draw attention away from the kids on this day?
As parents, we support you. It is the school board and the school administration that you need to convince.
If the teachers felt that this stunt is going to get them more parental support, they were sadly mistaken.
If you don't feel that you have the support of the Mountain Avenue parents, then I suggest you are poorly informed.
TODD FRANKLIN
La Crescenta
Votes should have been for education
You asked the question on Wednesday, "Are you happy with the way grant funds were allocated by the city?"
As a public school teacher of many years, I was disappointed that an educational program was overlooked by the council. I was saddened to see that the money had already been cut 42% for Club Jam, an after school-tutoring program for elementary children, and a mere $20,000 was allocated for this.
The last after-school program, in which I was involved as an educator, had a $100,000 budget — and we struggled with this Spartan amount. Such a program is of tremendous support to parents who, for a number of reasons, may be unable to help children with homework, or even to provide the resources necessary for their educational success.
