Letters to the editor for Thursday, Nov. 1

ANOKA-HENNEPIN SCHOOLS

See how they're run

I would like to invite the author of the Oct. 26 letter "Turn down the levy" to visit Coon Rapids Middle School. We will start in my office, sitting at the conference table and chairs I purchased at a garage sale.

I will explain to him that not a single taxpayer penny went into purchasing the six interactive whiteboards, also known as SmartBoards, that are in our math classrooms. They were purchased with money from fundraisers. Any new technology bought since December 2002 has depended on the number of magazines our students have sold and on our success at winning some small grants.

Our school has one computer for every 10 students, and some of the computers are 10 years old. When they quit working, we purchase another with fundraiser dollars or try to get another old computer from the district warehouse. When the district is fortunate enough to buy new computers, needed to run new software, it sends the old ones to the warehouse where they wait until they are called into use again for tasks that don't require the power of the newer computers. I worry about how our students will be able to compete with students who have their own computer at school.

Next we will discuss eighth-grade math scores and visit a classroom. Our students' scores have increased since our teachers began using the SmartBoards, and we believe it's because this technology keeps students more fully engaged. We have 33 SmartBoards in our entire district, 1.6 percent of our classrooms. In contrast, Wayzata School District has SmartBoards in 20 percent of classrooms and is purchasing more.

We will also stop in the music department, where we will see students using posture chairs. These chairs are used in music classes across the country because they help students learn the correct posture for playing musical instruments and singing. They are purchased instead of regular chairs and wear like iron. I know this because I have been the administrator in charge of music curriculum for the district for last eight years. (As part of cuts in the early 1990s, the district eliminated curriculum consultants for a number of areas and assigned principals to serve in those roles.)

Yes, we occasionally discard some desks and chairs. They may look good, but they have been welded and rewelded until they are deemed unsafe for student use.

I am proud of my school and the education we provide. I welcome citizens to come and see how we are using their tax dollars.

MICHELLE LANGENFELD, RAMSEY;

MIDDLE-SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

LEVIES ON BALLOT

Why single out schools?

In a Oct. 28 commentary, Lynn Reed of the Minnesota Taxpayers Association suggests voter-approved school levies are good because they remind people "what it means to live as citizens in a self-governing society."

I believe voting is a civic responsibility. But I don't understand why schools need voter permission to raise revenues when other providers of core government services do not.

For example, a vote to fund the Internal Revenue Service would probably fail, but without the IRS we wouldn't have a federal government.

ANNE M. HOOPS, MINNEAPOLIS

RITCHIE'S REELECTION

Using public info

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie used a public database for his campaign, allege paid partisan political practitioners. The substance of your Oct. 30 article comes down to the fact that Ritchie, or someone on his behalf, did something legal in advancing his hopes for reelection.

How is this a problem? Why is this news?

DAVID K. PORTER, MINNEAPOLIS

COLEMAN'S HOME ACT

A gift to lenders

The proposal Norm Coleman outlined in his Oct. 29 opinion piece -- allowing homeowners facing foreclosure to borrow against their retirement savings -- made me nervous. I got more nervous when I discovered that the Mortgage Bankers Association had quickly endorsed the plan.

The HOME Act would let homeowners take up to $100,000 out of their retirement accounts in order to refinance or avoid foreclosure. The withdrawal would be penalty-free if it's repaid to the account within three years. For people with traditional loans who are victims of a temporary setback or job loss, this could be a valid option for saving their homes.

But for the majority of nontraditional subprime borrowers caught in this crisis, this seems like a great way to persuade a people who are already in a deep financial hole to borrow against one of the few assets -- their retirement account -- that's protected in a federal bankruptcy proceeding. After they've cashed out their retirement savings in a futile attempt to save their home, they get a whopping penalty tax bill when they can't repay the money they borrowed three years earlier.

It seems to me that this bill is aimed more at making more assets available to subprime lenders and the people who bought those loans than keeping people in their homes.

SARA STRZOK, MINNEAPOLIS

FAUX NEWS COVERAGE

Brought to you by Bush

The fake news conference by FEMA in response to wildfires in California harks back to Armstrong Williams, who was paid almost a quarter of a million dollars by the Bush administration to promote the No Child Left Behind bill, while not disclosing this duplicity in his column. The media keep getting the old two-step shuffle, and the public keeps buying it. It is no wonder we live in such divisive times.

CHRIS JUDD, ST. PAUL