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Issue date: October 06, 2000

Chamber supports school merger

Editor:

On Nov. 7 the Mountain View community will be given the opportunity to support a measure that will merge our two elementary school districts. Measure C will offer Mountain View children and families more efficient services at no additional cost to taxpayers.

The board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce Mountain View voted unanimously to support this measure, because it is good for our community. One K-8 school district in Mountain View will provide all our children a greater choice of schools and programs and a common curriculum that will ensure every student is prepared for high school.

A unified leadership for our educational system will benefit Mountain View in many ways. I was astounded last week at a meeting of Project CAUSE at Graham Middle School, where various organizations reported on the tremendous work being done for local students.

Spearheaded by Superintendent Trish Bubenik, Project CAUSE (Community Action United for Students' Education) builds relationships and connections that result in a multifaceted support network for Mountain View youth. On this particular morning last week, we heard from nine organizations helping kids, among the Mountain View Police Department, Hewlett-Packard, the city of Mountain View, CHAC, the YMCA, and the Chamber of Commerce. This remarkable collaboration has been building over the years as a direct result of the leadership in the Mountain View School District.

Measure C will enable us to build on this community momentum to support youth. Mountain View students are our future architects, software engineers, restaurant owners, and community leaders. It is the responsibility of the entire community to ensure that students have the quality educational experience to provide them the skills and esteem they need to achieve their future goals.

A "yes" vote on Measure C is something each of us can do for Mountain View youth.

Carol Olson

President and CEO, Chamber of Commerce Mountain View

Substitute teachers needed

Editor:

I am inviting retired teachers and all community members who hold a four-year college degree to come to the aid of our local school district by substitute teaching. We are in dire need of substitute teachers, since our pool has been decreasing with every passing year.

Substitute teaching just once a week or once a month would be greatly appreciated by your local teachers.

Applicants should call the district office at (650) 526-3500 and talk to Josette Villase-Flor, who will explain what you need to do to become a substitute in the district. You may want to become a permanent sub after you have had the opportunity to work with our children, or even find that you want to make a career change to teaching.

Please seriously consider becoming a substitute teacher. We need your help. Thank you so much.

Pam Randall

Castro School

An appeal for a school bus

Editor:

I am new to California and live on Ednamary Way near El Monte. My children go to Graham and Bubb schools, and it is a long distance from our house to the schools on foot. My husband is at New York Medical College completing his studies, and I don't have any transportation and can't afford a car.

When I talked to the Mountain View School District office to see whether my children could ride the school bus they said that they have buses only for children who live out of our street area, even when the school buses run along El Monte and have extra space.

We are very frustrated about this situation, which is a great problem to us. That is why I request Dr. Trish Bubenik, superintendent of the Mountain View School District, to help in solving this problem. As she said in her interview (Voice, Aug. 25), the district accepts responsibility for every child's academic achievement.

This is very important if you want to get good results from the Mountain View School District. Please change your rules for the bus, so that my children can feel free to concentrate on their studies and achieve.

Darakhshan Arshad

Ednamary Way

Expert misled on fluoridation

Editor:

Dr. Hardy Lineback, the president of the Canadian Association of Dental Research and Canada's foremost promoter of fluoridation, has told his colleagues and students that he has unintentionally misled them for the past 15 years.

Lineback recently said he had not studied the toxicology information about fluoridation. What changed his mind was a recent study at the University of Toronto confirming that residents of cities that fluoridate have double the fluoride in their hip bones compared to the population that does not fluoridate their water.

The study also discovered that fluoride actually alters the basic structure of the bone, making it weak and brittle (skeletal fluorosis).

Lineback has stated that Canada is now spending more money treating dental fluorosis (mottled and brittle teeth) than cavities.

Don't you wonder why there is a warning on fluoridated toothpaste cartons that states to call poison control if you swallow it? This information came from Alternative Medicine magazine.

Suzanne Viscovich

Grant Road

False promises of Prop 38

Editor:

Prop 38, the school voucher initiative, asks voters to authorize a plan that is the equivalent of pouring the contents of a 50-gallon drum into a soup can.

This is the only conclusion I can reach after reading a new study by WestEd, a nonprofit research agency. WestEd surveyed all private schools in California, and after adding up the results, it estimates that there is only enough space in private schools to accommodate 33,000 spaces available, which is less than 1 percent of current public school enrollment.

Furthermore, WestEd found that at many private schools -- both religious and nonsectarian -- applications already exceed the number of spaces available. Most private schools told WestEd that the $4,000 voucher is not enough of an incentive for them to expand.

Prop 38 claims to offer parents a choice of sending their children to a nonpublic school funded by tax dollars. However, there can be no choice when there is no space. On the other hand, those already in private school will receive a $4,000 voucher at a cost to taxpayers of $3 billion.

Prop 38 is a false promise and must be defeated.

The WestEd study is available at www.wested.org.

Judy Hannemann

Mountain View-Los Altos High School Board Member

Questions about CalTrain

Editor:

Thanks for the recent article about the proposed electrification of CalTrain (Voice, Sept. 22). Reducing travel times and lowering noise are very attractive lures of such action.

Just a few comments about two factors involved. The article states, "Studies have shown electrified trains emit less air pollution." It has been claimed that using electric trains would move the source of pollution to electric generating plants, which cause more air pollution than any other industry. Perhaps this is not a good trade-off for the planet.

The article further states, "Over the next 10 years plans call for adding 46 more daily trains from San Jose to San Francisco, bringing the total to 114." Since commuter trains mostly do not run at night, if we guestimate a 15-hour service period for 110 trains, that would indicate a train every 8 minutes.

In my opinion, this would be too many trains. The article isn't specific regarding the number of trains currently running, but it must be 58/68 trains daily, or approximately one every 13.5 minutes.

Imagine twice as many trains as we now have. I recently spent 10 minutes in Mountain View trapped by trains and the light rail. Ponder being stopped by a train every time you enter or exit Mountain View over grade. The thought would cause anyone to consider taking the train, which may be the point.

I believe as Mountain View residents we shouldn't be too quick to cave into the enticements of this plan. I'd like to see the environmental study before funding the project.

As for the additional trains concept, if the issue is too many commuters per train, how about longer trains instead. Which trade-off would you prefer when driving, waiting slightly longer for a train or being stopped twice?

I hope others in this community will also consider this proposal carefully.

Dennis Cartwright

Moffett Blvd

Local roots run deep

Editor:

With deep roots of mine here, I've always been inclined to vote for and support our own, when they have chosen to seek election to the city council. My feeling is that their own backgrounds and knowledge better qualifies them to serve our community and its needs.

Who but they have better knowledge of Mountain View's past and present and a sense for what direction to take regarding our future?

I very much like Matt Pear's ideas, visions, and plans according to the profile in the Voice (Sept. 22).

As a local voter, I follow the candidates' performance and track record once they are elected, which helps me make a decision on re-elections next time around.

Frances Trimmer

S. Rengstorff 