District not transparent about school options

Editor: On Wednesday night the Lodi Unified School Board will consider two plans to reopen schools: a return to a regular fiveday school schedule or a social distancing hybrid schedule, where students would be staggered to attend school two days a week and expected to continue some distance learning too.

Regardless of which plan you prefer, you should be aware of one important fact: the task force that the district convened in March to troubleshoot these COVID-19 issues has only studied the hybrid model and was never even told of the regular-day option. So there are two possible plans, but the task force was only told about one.

Why is this important? Because when the district suggests that its approach to this pandemic has been inclusive, democratic, transparent and open, the community should be aware that this is far from the truth.

In the last few months there have been constant references to the importance of this task force in school board meetings, LUSD website updates, superintendent video chats, and social media blurbs. The task force was a district think tank. The district was listening. The district was responding. The district was including many voices. The district would find a way.

Instead, however, the task force has become an elaborate puppet show to trot out when the school district needs the appearance of democracy without the messiness of actual teamwork. If they are going to vote on two choices, and the task force has only seen one, that’s a set-up. The task force is a farce.

The district sidestepped the task force, and now the school board will be asked to consider an option that was never vetted by the very group of experts (teachers, administrators, classified staff, counselors) that the district had convened for this purpose. Whether you like that option or not, the point is that the process was insincere and insufficient.

So when Lodi Unified assures you that it is working in tandem with teachers on issues of great educational importance during this pandemic, know that it quite simply is not. There is a documented indifference to the very professionals they are putting on the front lines. They aren’t listening to us. Perhaps they are not listening to you either.

Lodi Unified’s top-down decision-making will trickle down to the 1,500 teachers, 27,000 students, and all of the parents and community members that this district ought to respect and include. This form of governance is contrary to the principles of representative democracy upon which this unified school district was formed. The public should be aware of the chaos behind the scenes and be wary of this arrogant management style and the dangerous disregard it demonstrates.

JEN CASSEL Tokay High School Teacher LUSD Task Force Committee member

Freedom is being stripped away

Editor: My first blessing was to be born to Christian parents in the United States of America. My father was in the Marine Corps for 30 years I have 82 years of military service in my family. I know a little bit about fighting for freedom and the sacrifices that are made.

In a time when our nation is so terribly troubled, it’s a shame that more people do not participate in displaying our flag on memorable days — June 14 was flag day! Very disappointing and sad that only a few American flags were on display in Lodi. Our flag that represents our nation’s freedom, and the blessing our country stands for.

To quote Pastor Frank Nolton’s article in the reflections section, Saturday, June 13, “While our founding fathers didn’t intend America to be a literal “Christian nation,” it is undeniably fact that Biblical principles were at the heart of the philosophy of our foundation and because of that, America basked in God’s presents and he blessed America tremendously. Amen to that!

I am 81 years young, I am heartbroken and sad to see so many people living in so much freedom that is taken for granted. Our freedom is literally being taken away from us day by day. Have you noticed?

I’d like to thank Arlene Dentone for her beautiful letter to the editor Saturday, June 13, “what being an American means to me.” Hopefully, most of us are in agreement with her.

I would like to publicly thank everyone of our police officers for taking care of us, watching over us and protecting us. You put your lives on the line for us every day. God bless you and keep you safe. We appreciate you greatly.

Please, let us all pray for peace in our nation, to love and show respect one another, asking God to forgive us and teach us wisdom, for a better tomorrow.

NANCY CAMPBELL

Lodi

Without police there is no peace

Editor: It’s been said “men cannot improve a society by setting fire to it: They must seek out its old virtues, and bring them back into the light.”

When George Floyd was murdered everyone agreed justice must be done with the officer(s) who did this. Yet, with this universal agreement, a week later our cities were on fire stoked by the radical anarchists who have been active off and on since the 1960s.

How did so many cities get overtaken so quickly? Because our politicians from both parties, who were elected to protect us from this kind of anarchy, let it happen. In every cultural-revolution from Mao on, they didn’t just go after certain aspects of society, they went after all the history of the society.

Marx said, “The first battlefield is the rewriting of history.” Orwell wrote, the “most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate its understanding of its own history.”

Pitting one group/class against another never fails to ignite passions, usually based on lies, to start the fire that they hope will bring down a society. In the end they always end up eating their own. Back in the 1960s the “silent majority” got so fed up with the violence they demanded our leaders to stop it, which they did.

Anarchists can only be stopped by force which, unlike the past, is something our spineless political leaders won’t commit to use. Political opportunists are using Mr. Floyd’s tragedy to bring down our country. Racism will always be here with a few but on the whole we are not a racist nation!

We mustn’t kneel to the mob for acts we had nothing to do with for they’ll demand even more of us. Gen. MacArthur said of appeasement it “lays the basis for new and successful greater demands, until violence becomes the only alternative.”

Honor our police for without them, there is no peace.

RON PORTAL Lodi

“Are we there yet?” How many times in your life have you heard that plaintive question, usually from a child in your car’s back seat? Lots, I’d bet. Today, however, the lament is likely to come from the grown-ups in the front seat: “Can we go yet?”

The answer changes weekly and comes with a host of cautionary words about what to expect, how to behave, and some ancient advice: caveat emptor, buyer beware.

I know several people who have either canceled or postponed trips outside the U.S. or had their trip canceled by a tour company, with the option to reschedule at a later date.

Although tour companies may offer incentives to rebook instead of cancel, everyone I know has chosen cancellation, citing various reasons, all based on the current unpredictability of life. Agerelated issues of health, mobility, finances and, sometimes, fear are valid reasons to be cautious.

So, how do we decide when to leave our nests and spread our travel wings again? For international travel, the answer may simply be factual: many countries are not allowing entry to non-natives. How long that situation will last is anybody’s guess. The pandemic is fluid. Rules are relaxed then tightened again. Potential dates for reopening are pushed back.

Maybe it comes down to