Letters To The Editor

New Shadle Park library appreciated

Congratulations to the “powers that be” for our new Shadle Park Public Library!

What better use for a corner of Shadle Park than our much-needed library? The design of the building is clear-cut and restful, with a wall of windows looking out on the park and giving a feeling of light and space to the simple interior.

We “Shadle people” have waited many years for this lovely library and it is duly appreciated.

Marcella M. Thibault Spokane

Mead needs to evaluate priorities

While parents of school-age children around the country currently are expressing concern about the lack of quality in academics, the Mead School District appears to be acting in oblivion. It has cut funding for next year’s debate, talented and gifted (TAG), and remedial reading programs.

The cuts to debate are especially outrageous not only because debate is the most academic of Mead’s extra-curricular activities, but because Mead’s team is so successful. It won the state speech tournament in 1995 and 1997, and took second in 1996.

Students on the team also placed in the top 20 at the national forensics tournament the last five years in a row. The team’s coach, Penny Johnston, who spends 30 to 40 hours a week with the team after school and on weekends, won the 1996 Washington State Speech and Debate Educator of the Year Award. As a result of budget cuts, Johnston will no longer have transportation funds for tournaments or an assistant.

I acknowledge that a few cuts also have been planned for Mead’s athletic programs. One assistant to the high school cheerleading coach and one C-squad high school football coach have been eliminated. But multiple other coaches and assistants remain. Why not strive for more equitable cuts across the extra-curricular board?

The Mead School District seriously must reevaluate its budgeting priorities and its focus on academics if it wants to retain the reputation for academics that it is known for. Lori M. Preuss Mead