Our Readers Write

Sorry about the anti-semitism
Editor:
The Church of the Transfiguration wishes to extend its heartfelt condolences to the schoolchildren and their families affected by anti-Semitism in mountain area schools, as reported by the Canyon Courier.
As Episcopalians and Christians, Judaism is our spiritual heritage. Our Lord was a Jew. We learned in a Seder led by Beth Evergreen’s Rabbi Jamie that we tell many of the same stories and we sing many of the same songs.
An act of hate against one of us is an affront to us all. We encourage all mountain-area residents to deplore these actions publicly and to reach out to our neighbors, especially our Jewish neighbors, to stand with them against bigotry and hate.
The Vestry of the Church of the Transfiguration
Evergreen

The puzzle of the superintendent search
Editor:
I love puzzles that have two pictures with a few minor differences that have to be found. So I made a puzzle out of comparing the 2014 and 2017 Jefferson County school board superintendent search processes. The pictures were about the same. An early calendar year requirement to search for a new Jeffco leader.
·  In 2014, it was a result of the superintendent announcing she would leave before the end of the school year. In 2017, the board pushed aside the superintendent and gave him $100,000. He stayed a Jeffco employee but was asked to clean out his office.
·  In 2014, Ray & Associates was hired to conduct the search, same firm used in 2017. In 2014, community meetings, surveys and town halls were used to collect community input on desired traits for a new leaders. In 2017, the same process.
·  In 2014, the search firm reached out to a thousand folks and about 60 applied for the job. In 2017, the same process.
·   In 2014, Ray & Associates narrowed the field to the top dozen or so candidates, which were presented to the board in closed door meetings. The top half dozen were granted interviews also in closed door meetings. In 2017, the same process.
·  In 2014, the board selected a sole finalist stating he was far and above their first choice. In 2017, again, the same process.
·  In 2014, community members screamed foul. They packed the board room, shouted for more transparency, demanded there be more than one finalist, wrote letters and started a petition. In fact, two of our current board members joined the fray saying one finalist was disrespectful. In 2017, silence, no protests, no demands for more than one finalist. Nothing.
That is a difference anyone can find in this puzzle. It is spelled hypocrisy.
Lisa Papke
Lakewood

Million dollar superintendent with ZERO student accountability
Editor:
It is a sad day for students in Jeffco. The new Jeffco superintendent will earn over a million dollars over the next three years. The sad part — there is zero compensation tied to gains in student achievement or gains in student performance. Zero. Nada.
That is a new low for the Jeffco School Board that they would even consider this, much less approve this. Both of Mr. Glass’ predecessors had bonuses tied to student achievement, and you will find that very common in school districts across Colorado. Yes, Cindy Stevenson and Dan McMinimee both had a part of their compensation tied to student outcomes.
The latest District Accountability Committee school reports outlined many areas where student performance has dropped. Why was improving student achievement not included in his contract? Isn’t he supposed to be an advocate for student education? Shouldn’t student performance be on top of the list? I guess he will be too busy writing his blog to care about ensuring Jeffco students are career or college ready. It is a sad day indeed.
Maureen Sielaff
Littleton