Greater threat — monkeypox or shutdown?
Editor: With the threat of monkeypox on the rise, there is an arguably greater threat looming: another shutdown.
Let’s not forget what happened the last time a virus was introduced and the damage the subsequent lockdown caused. The government didn’t waste the pandemic, and we saw the egregious overstepping of local, state, and national officials. It was “15 Days to Slow the Spread" that turned into nearly two years of fear-mongering and overreach.
We suffered loss from mismanagement, lack of full-spectrum medication, and a hiding of the truth by the government we were told to trust. We had a mental health crisis among our youth when they closed our schools. We suffered loss of livelihood when they decided our small-business owners were “non-essential.” They fired good cops who refused to enforce the unconstitutional shutdown when there was no case law to back it up. And we lost the moral compass of the country when we were told, “the country needs to heal” and the government crossed over the boundary separating church and state.
The church, which is supposed to stand for life and speak out against injustice, bent to the government’s unconstitutional orders and shut their doors. The brave ones who stayed open following Biblical mandates were slandered, threatened, and shunned even by those they had called their brothers and sisters. Several were still shut down by officials and their partners, fined, and put through the ringer. All the while, those same officials held back data and truth, and didn’t follow their own rules. They laughed at us behind their French Laundry doors and gas-lighted us into hating and fearing each other, leaving our elderly to die alone, and eating up everything the media and their so-called specialists fed us.
They used intimidation, lies, censorship, and even bribery to get us to believe what they said and to bend to their every whim. We cannot allow this to happen again. Let’s not forget all that we went through and make sure we don’t fall for it again. Eyes wide open, people, and brush off that copy of the Constitution. JENNIFER MILLER
Lodi
Lodi teachers need a better offer
Editor: Last. Best. Final. The Lodi Education Association is currently negotiating their 202122 contract with Lodi Unified School District and LEA has moved forward to file for impasse due to the lack of good faith bargaining from the district.
I have worked for over 20 years for this district and unfortunately the fact that our district stubbornly refuses to negotiate terms favorable to our students and the future of our district does not surprise me at all. Their “last, best, and final offer” included a 5.07% cost of living adjustment. This is not a raise from our district, it is passed on to every district from the state government, in fact the governor’s budget states a COLA of 5.53%, not 5.07%. However, I would like to clarify that even with 5.07% COLA our district remains behind other neighboring district in terms of wages, bonuses for interns and heath care benefits.
LUSD has 50 teacher vacancies posted on Edjoin and all the district can say is “last, best, and final offer”. Lincoln Unified is offering $1,500 signing bonuses and all LUSD can say is “last, best, and final offer.” Other districts are offering veteran teachers year-for-year credit to lure them to their districts and all our district can say is “last, best and final offer.
Our district is wasting time by holding up negotiations while districts around us prepare for full staffing for the 202223 school year. This “last, best, and final offer” from the district puts our students last, is far from the best they can do, and should not be their final offer. Please reach out to your Lodi Unified School Board members to remind them of the need to recruit and retain skilled teachers by offering competitive wages and a fair contract.
BETH OESTERMAN
Lodi