Letters

Thanks for helping the communityThe Live Oak High School Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) thanks the community for its generous support of the Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive for the 125 underprivileged families in the Morgan Hill Unified School District.  Through your efforts, they were able to have a happier Thanksgiving.It all began when you donated money and cans to the students who stood in front of the two Safeway stores in town Nov. 12 and 13 and asked for your contributions. In addition, cans and non-perishables were collected in the classrooms at Live Oak throughout the month—over 3,700 items. A small group at Martin Murphy Middle School also helped toward the cause. A former FBLA member who has scoured her neighborhood for over 10 years brought in over 500 items.  The names of the families were acquired from each of the schools in the district.All of the sorting and packing into the huge apple boxes and a large grocery bag for each family was completed Nov. 21 and 22. On Nov. 23, the pickups, vans and cars were loaded and the deliveries were made to each of the 125 families with the help of the Morgan Hill and San Martin Lions Club members as drivers who took two students with each of them.Each of the 125 families received a huge apple box (approximately 60-70 pounds); a large grocery bag full of potatoes, rice, beans, tortillas and non-perishables; a loaf of bread; a turkey; and laundry detergent. Over 400 man-hours were spent for this successful endeavor!Kiki Nakauchi, FBLA AdvisorMorgan Hill Take care of teachersI think it’s about time our teachers are taken care of.Time and time again, education is the first to get cut one way or another, and it’s upsetting. It is known information that a teacher’s salary is rather low in comparison to other professions, which can be discouraging for those who are innately qualified to teach our children.As a result, our children lose out. Offering low cost housing to educators will certainly relieve them of some stress, and will surely give them a reason to stay. Less stress often equates to happier life, and a happier person tends to perform better at work. This means that the children will have better education.My family is part of a different district and I hope this sets the bar for other districts within the county to start taking care of the people who give so much to create leaders.Claudia CortezSan Jose

There is a rising interest in animal husbandry and agriculture, and the government run organization 4-H is partly responsible for this rising interest.4-H is a youth development and leadership program that encourages youth to pursue their interests and to step up and lead fun events where other youth get to connect and share experiences. Our country needs a strong generation of youth who are able leaders, and 4-H is doing just that, creating youth who are passionate about what they do and helps them develop the skills to lead.4-H clubs are everywhere, and a local club is the San Martin 4-H club.This club has started up for its 2016-17 year. The club has grown and plans to participate in more local events.We have many projects that help grow experience and provide an outlet for members to socialize with people who have similar interests. One of things that makes San Martin 4-H unique is it is the only club in the county that currently has a dog training project. Some other projects are sheep, goat, leadership, public speaking, cavies, veterinary science, equine-horse, poultry, sewing, swine, arts and crafts, gardening, rabbits, livestock judging, robotics, beginning 4-H (which is for clovers) and cooking.If you want to check out the club, they meet the first Thursday of every month at the Lions Club in San Martin (12415 Murphy Ave.) or check out their website at  sanmartin4h.clubStuart BettencourtSan Martin

MH is grateful for veteransThank You, Thank You, Thank You!I would like to thank our community, our young families, Eddie Bowers, and our veterans for the gift of our annual Veterans Day and Memorial Day Ceremonies.Our community, with the support of our local police, gathers in the median of Monterey Road at First Street to honor our local military and to express our thanks for their service and sacrifice. Young families bring children to experience what Veterans Day and Memorial Day represent—not just a sale at the mall, but a tribute to the members of our Armed Forces.Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts proudly wear their uniforms to show their respect and patriotism.Eddie Bowers, whose idea it was to build and retain our Veterans Wall at the intersection of First and Monterey, deservedly was recognized as the "Veteran of the Year" by the California State Assembly. He graciously shared his recognition with the veterans of our audience who were greeted with applause and cheers.We live in an amazing community. Morgan Hill represents a community standing together in its grateful thanks to our veterans. We are passing our traditions into the future through our children. These children are learning to honor those who serve and to love this great country of ours.Karen Ann CraneMorgan Hill Columnist should offer more dialogueIn response to John McKay’s opinion regarding social media dialogue in the Nov. 11 Times, I agree more of an effort is needed to bring civility to discussions. But Mr. McKay is hardly the spokesperson for “honest and civil” digital dialogues.Mr. McKay contributed to the divisiveness in Measure S conversations and perpetuated dissent by suggesting residents with differing opinions weren’t talking to the “experts” or reading the facts, and were therefore misinformed. I felt insulted that my attempts to understand the facts weren’t good enough, my conclusions were wrong, and my ability to make up my own mind was impaired.Mr. McKay’s participation in social media discussions, in my experience, serves his purpose of expressing his opinion and providing information he feels is beneficial to the community. I respect his right to do that, and I have gained insight from him that I probably wouldn’t by dismissing his views as contrary and one-sided. However, I did not see similar consideration in return.As Mr. McKay speaks of cyber bullying, he forgets his own criticism targeted toward those attempting to share differing opinions. Just prior to the election, Mr. McKay attacked Councilmember-elect Rene Spring on the Jackson Oaks Nextdoor site, stating Mr. Spring, who helped develop Measure S, “did not show any concern that the wording had been changed” regarding open space protection and “support for him will suffer by definition.” He also called into question Mr. Spring’s Planning Commission vote on Oak Meadow (in west Morgan Hill) that contributed to the loss of 80 acres of open space protection—a protection that Mr. McKay also voted against. Mr. Spring did not have the access to the Jackson Oaks site and had no opportunity to defend himself.As for Mr. McKay’s suggestion that he is a target of planning commission protests, I’d like to know who those groups are so I can distance myself from them. To date, I have not read one word on social media indicating any planned protests. If these threats are being sent to Mr. McKay personally, he is doing a disservice to his point by including them to support his view of a social media problem.Yes, there can be problem with social media as the language and intent can be misinterpreted. Mr. McKay sees this contributing to an “unpleasant shift in the spirit and culture within the digital realm of Morgan Hill.”One way to adjust that shift is by reaching out personally. I’d like to remind Commissioner McKay that what also comes “with the territory of being a city official” is availability to the community. He has never once responded to my emails to the commission, nor has he offered to speak with me in person, which is something other members of the commission and city council have done to clarify their messages.To me, that makes him an addition to the problem more than the solution he seeks.Chris MonackMorgan Hill

Yes on Measure BI was very pleased to read the “Guest View” about Measure B and pleased to read that our local Chamber endorses it. I learned about Measure B many months ago, and saw the immediate potential for South County. There are several components of the measure that turned me and many others into advocates for the its passage. These benefits are positive, (and long overdue) outcomes to South County Transportation:One is the completion of plans to widen the Hale/Santa Teresa corridor between Long Meadow and Fitzgerald, and along the DeWitt and Main corridor. This would give us the badly needed west side bypass that would help calm our downtown traffic.The second of these positive results would be funds available for general road maintenance, something that our city urgently needs. Over the life of the measure, we would share approximately $54,082,927 from Measure B funds when this measure is passed.Finally is the desperately needed improvements along the Highway 152 corridor west of Gilroy and to the SR 25 corridor into San Benito County. These improvements are a MUST DO for the very southern portion of the county!There are many more potential benefits. Please visit yesmeasureb.com/ for complete information.I urge you to vote YES on Measure B!Swanee EdwardsMorgan Hill Low teacher pay is students’ lossI am a concerned citizen in this community, and you should be too. My concern is why it seems acceptable to not pay our teachers enough to survive in this district. We are expecting our teachers to give nothing but the best to our children yet we are not giving them the same in return.Instead of offering them a fair raise they are being offered teacher housing, with the potential of having to live surrounded by other teachers. I had to live in similar situations when I was in the Army; in my experience that environment never works. It only causes tension and conflict in the work environment. That also takes away the chance for them to one day choose a suitable home for themselves to purchase, which is the American Dream, right?I don’t see how these teachers are being denied a 10 percent raise when the majority of the board is working on a four-tier pay scale that starts at $160,000. The raise these teachers are asking for still puts them well under half of that. They don’t want to abuse the system; they just want to stay and teach in a district they love and be able to live comfortably when they do.I went to a school board meeting a couple weeks ago and it was brought up by the board how this school district is one of the top in the country, and how they had a surreal trip with Washington officials praising Morgan Hill.My question is, how can they then come back and tell these teachers that to be able to receive this much needed raise they have to work longer days? Has their work not spoken for itself? I then question, if this is their business approach to this scenario, how are other crucial matters being handled? What I mean by that is, if they are being praised by how great this district is, why would they return and then degrade these teachers by denying them a well deserved raise or require more effort than they already give to receive one?I want the best for our youth, and to achieve that we need to give the same to our teachers. They should be able to live comfortably so their focus is solely on educating rather than worrying whether they can afford to stay in this district.My fear is that we are going to lose great, qualified teachers within the next school year, which will be a shame for these children.Stephanie HuizarMorgan Hill

Measure B offers accountabilityJoin me in supporting Measure B, the 30-year, half-cent sales tax that will reduce traffic congestion in Morgan Hill by:• Completing and modernizing Hale Avenue/Santa Teresa Boulevard to provide a thoroughfare for the west side of Morgan Hill.• Increasing Caltrain capacity and service with more user-friendly schedules.• Providing more than $800,000 annually for road maintenance in Morgan Hill.• Providing direct access to Saint Louise Regional Hospital with a Buena Vista interchange.• Providing bicycle and pedestrian improvements near schools.While Measure B provides the traffic improvements Morgan Hill needs, it also provides the accountability improvements our voters deserve:• The two-thirds vote threshold (67 percent majority required for passage) assures that the Measure B projects are legally binding.• Changing a single word  or sentence in Measure B requires a 75 percent (9 of 12 members) vote of the VTA Board.• Measure B requires Annual Independent Audits by a Citizens Oversight Committee to report on how every dime is spent.Please vote YES on Measure B.Steve TateMayor of Morgan Hill Sales tax measure has pros and consI have been given an opportunity to state my opinion on Measure B by Valley Transportation Authority for a half-cent sales tax on the purchases of goods and services in Santa Clara County. In return, VTA promises to distribute some of this money back to Santa Clara County and its cities for road repair and gridlock mitigation.I am conflicted as to whether I support this measure. I am not going to ask you to vote yes or no, but instead tell you what I feel are the pros and cons as I see them so that you can perhaps make an informed choice.  First, Morgan Hill could use the money earmarked for improvements to our crumbling roads. South County needs the additional Caltrain service to and from Gilroy. Monies are supposed to be set aside for the west-side bypass from Hale to Santa Teresa. Extra money is always good if the people in charge of that money have a proven record of fiscal responsibility and fulfill their promises. For all of that I would say by all means, please consider voting for Measure B.However, we are being overtaxed. It seems so easy for government agencies like VTA to come around with their hand out. We face a backlog of street repairs and severe gridlock on 101. We have multiple taxes and fees from Santa Clara Valley Water District, property taxes, school bonds and state bonds, gas tax, water/sewer charges and garbage pickup.At this point, you the taxpayer are paying 8.75 percent sales tax in Morgan Hill. At some point our local government is probably going to need some type of tax to help with the backlog of infrastructure repairs. An additional .5 percent by VTA will bring us to 9.25 percent total sales tax.From this standpoint, I am inclined to vote No on Measure B. VTA does not seem to ever get control of the situation and give the relief that the people of Morgan Hill need. VTA has broken many such promises in the past, and I am having trust issues with VTA and our money.Would I trust VTA with $6 billion at this point? The answer is no I would not.So I hope this helps you make the best decision for you. Can you afford the tax increase? Will VTA fulfill their promise to use the money correctly? Do you trust VTA?These are your decisions. Please vote with your best interest and that of your community.Kirk R. BertoletCandidate for Mayor of Morgan Hill Editor’s note: Mayoral candidate Joseph Carrillo did not respond to a request for his opinion on Measure B. 

I would like to commend the City of Morgan Hill—in particular, the Public Works Streets Division for their prompt response to a citizen's request.  On Thursday, Sept. 29, through the city website,morganhill.ca.gov, I reported a pothole problem in my neighborhood. A week later on Wednesday, it was filled in. Thank you.On that note, I urge citizens to report not just crimes, but ordinary items like potholes, burned out street lights, etc. These are items that are easily remedied by our local government. Every little action counts.  If you see something, speak up. Do not wait for somebody to do it for you.Let us help city staff do their job of keeping our city a better place to live in. Our local government might have limited resources to monitor every corner of our town and/or to fix everything, but now I know that they are listening.Sincerely,Lourdes Reroma StoneMorgan Hill

Vote ‘yes’ on cig tax

Let’s try pedestrian safety suggestionsI appreciated Kathy Sullivan's more expansive solutions to the serious concerns about pedestrian safety downtown.As a member of the Downtown Association, she presented more proactive suggestions than just saying that flashing pedestrian lights would detract from the ambiance of downtown. It's obviously a tricky proposition. How do we create a situation in which downtown businesses thrive, which is the obvious goal of the Downtown Association, while providing a safe environment for residents and visitors?Perhaps the dialog has now progressed to the point where these are not mutually exclusive endeavors. Downtown businesses need patrons and people will not venture downtown if they fear for their safety. Expanding our creative options to benefit both downtown businesses and the safety of their patrons should be our goal.She has offered many good starting points for reaching consensus. Among them is closing Monterey Street downtown on select weekends or even every weekend when commute traffic is not an issue. Her suggestions merit further discussion and trial implementation.Working together and thinking outside the box, we can create a win-win situation for our downtown businesses and pedestrian safety!Debra UllmanMorgan HillCut down on wasteful spendingVery biased views on downtown presented in last issue. Let's interview and talk with a vast array of real citizens without vested business interest in downtown and find out what they are thinking.Downtown is not the only place that feels unsafe. More traffic in the entire town by distracted careless drivers is pronounced.My opinion: too much taxpayer money is being poured into downtown. Instead, that money should have been spent on infrastructure such as road and pipe repairs. No new taxes please.Learn to spend the resources more wisely. City government tends to be somewhat wasteful spending our tax dollars. The economy isn't going to be like it is now forever. We need to spend more carefully.Marie LambMorgan Hill

Editor’s note: The letter below was sent July 26 to the families of students attending Silicon Valley Flex, located on Jarvis Drive in Morgan Hill. The letter has been edited for length and style.Dear Flex Families,It is with heavy hearts and the deepest of regrets that we make this announcement. After extensive deliberation, and after exploring every option available to us, the Flex Board has made the decision to close the school.K12, the school’s service provider who managed and operated the school for the board for the last five years, terminated its service contract with Flex on July 1, five years early. While the board disagrees with K12’s grounds to terminate the service contract, it cannot operate the school without K12’s financial support, and does not have alternative funding for the school. Please note that the K12 staff supporting the school are working hard to assist with this transition.While this late notice is very unfortunate, the Flex Board does not have sufficient funds to operate the school this year without K12, and attempting to begin the school year without a sound economic base would inevitably result in closure mid-year, thus forcing staff and students out at a point which would be much worse.Silicon Valley Flex has served its students and families well for the past five years, and our sincere hope was to find a way to ensure it could continue to do so. Sadly, in the past week it became clear that we are simply out of options and can wait no longer to notify our staff and our families.We know that you have many questions and we are working as quickly as we can to get you the answers you deserve. Over the next two weeks, members of the leadership team and representatives from our partner, K12, will be onsite to meet with you to discuss next steps and other options available to you. We appreciate K12’s effort in this regard. We have also included some Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this letter to address some preliminary questions that we anticipate you’ll have.We want to hear from you directly and to answer any questions you have. School and K12 representatives will be onsite July 27 from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and again on July 28 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. For those who are unable to join us this week, we will be available next week from Tuesday through Thursday as well.Sincerely,Mark Kushner, Board PresidentOn Behalf of the Silicon Valley Flex Board of Trustees