S.F. falters in education
Regarding “Upgrade teachers’ pay” (Letters, July 11): The author is absolutely right that though Mayor Ed Lee is the tops in mayors’ pay in California, San Francisco Unified School District teachers’ pay is 528 out of 821 in California school districts, disproving the common belief that San Francisco is a liberal city. Our police are also near the top. Theoretically, with more than five times the per pupil tax base of many cities which spend more per pupil, we should have the highest per-pupil spending in the state. As with most questions, follow the money and what benefits the elites. The mayor and police serve the elites, but San Francisco is the most conservative county in the U.S. in terms of the percentage of white and high-income kids in private school.
The poor must know their place. We spend way more than any other county, but not on schools. We should be able to provide tutoring for every child not advanced or proficient on state tests from second grade, but they have other priorities. Helping poor kids become middle class is not a priority of those who run San Francisco, so the Board of Supervisors never votes for significant general fund money to be used to improve the schools that serve the masses. That’s a shame!
Justin Van Zandt, San Francisco
Supervisor help
Having lived most of my life in San Francisco, I have known about district supervisors but never contacted one before. When we had construction done on our home in 2015 and 2016, we received our first reassessment. Due to some errors on a form we submitted to the San Francisco assessor’s office, our property tax rose significantly. We went online to find out about reassessment and how and when to appeal. We became thoroughly confused. When we called the assessor’s office, we got more confused.
Our friends suggested contacting our supervisor, Norman Yee, to see if he could help us get a clearer picture of our options. Within one day, his staff contacted the assessor’s office, and a few days later, the assessor’s office called us. After explaining our issues, the assessor’s office lowered our assessment a significant amount. We were only looking for our options to appeal, and instead our problem was quickly resolved. Thank you, Supervisor Yee and Jen Low!
Mary Gardner, San Francisco
Health care in Congress
All Americans of goodwill, regardless of political affiliations, should hope or pray for the full recovery of Rep. Steve Scalise (injured by gunfire) and Sen. John McCain (diagnosed with brain cancer). No expense should be spared in their treatment and recovery programs. However, given the recently expressed positions of these two men in the national health care debate, it’s fair to ask if they feel the same way about many of their constituents.
Both men support huge reductions and caps on Medicare, which would affect over a million beneficiaries in their combined districts. Where is the goodwill of these two leaders when it comes to securing the health and wellbeing of their most vulnerable constituents? Are not the lives of the less well-off equally important as those of the wealthy and powerful?
Max MacLeod, Berkeley
Strong-arm tactics
Regarding “Trump exhorts Senate anew to rid U.S. of Obamacare” (July 20): President Trump has “cajoled, scolded and issued veiled threats to his fellow Republicans, all aimed at wringing a health care bill out of a divided caucus that’s been unable to produce one so far.” So now the president is trying to break the Republican holdouts much like false confessions are bullied out of those accused of crimes.
Just keep talking at them, keep forcing them to stay in the interrogation room, keep trying new ways to say the same thing over and over again until you wear them down, or in this case, until you get them to vote for a bill that they know is misguided, based on false premises and will actually harm millions of Americans whom they were elected to represent. It is my hope that those who have already proved their mettle by bravely casting no votes will soon be joined by many others who recognize that these strong-arm tactics have no place in our democracy.
Andrea Rosenman, San Mateo
Mueller’s investigation
Regarding “Trump explores ways of limiting Mueller’s probe” (July 21): So President Trump is looking to limit the investigative powers of Special Counsel Robert Mueller! Is anyone really surprised at this? Not only is there no surprise, but there has been a clear expectation that this would happen once Trump became concerned that some of his own deeds might be uncovered, perhaps through some publication of his tax returns. He and his lawyers are already inventing a list of supposed “conflicts of interest” on Mueller’s part. Does anyone really wonder that Trump will find a reason to fire the entire investigative committee? The only real question is when. Margaret Stortz, El Cerrito