Faith in kids essential

What kind of person would make the following statement?

“By 2014, every child in the country has to be proficient in language arts and mathematics; even if your IQ is 6, you have to be proficient. I want to tell you: It ain’t gonna happen.”

This is a quote by Democrat Stan Olson, who has filed to run against Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna. I firmly believe that our superintendent should believe in our students, teachers and parents. Stan Olson obviously doesn’t believe that our teachers, students and parents have the ability to succeed and achieve.

On the flip side, Superintendent Luna fully believes in our teachers, students and parents and has proven that by increasing student achievement by over 30 percent in four years.

With Stan Olson, “… It ain’t gonna happen.”

Ann Seddon

Coeur d’Alene

Spokane Mayor Mary Verner wants city workers to forgo a pay raise in 2011 due to a $12 million shortfall in the budget. She spoke of possibly 100 people being laid off.

Before retiring, I was a business owner. It was a very lucrative and successful business. When we were feeling a crunch due to competition, instead of layoffs, we asked our dedicated employees what they thought of going to four-day weeks, only for the ones who could afford to. That is exactly what happened. It worked for us, as our employees kept their benefits and loved having that third day off to do things that they couldn’t have done otherwise.

Maybe this could be an option for the city, as I know that it would prevent unwanted layoffs and preserve unemployment also. I bet there are a lot of city workers who would love to have a three-day weekend every week and could afford to do so. Just thought I would share something that was a big success for our business.

Sheila Mead

Chattaroy