LETTERS: District must pare administrative bloat

To the editor:

If anyone has the time, they should drive by 5100 W. Sahara Ave. during regular working hours, excluding the lunch hour. During the day, the huge parking lot at the Clark County School District administration building fills up with automobiles bearing the district’s logo. I assume these cars are paid for by taxpayers. Those cars are just one of the perks that the bloated school administration enjoys at our expense.

Meanwhile, we cannot find enough money to adequately pay our teachers or to maintain or build facilities. It would surprise most of you to know that nonclassroom spending takes up 50 percent of the public education budget. The education budget as a whole comprises about half of the state’s overall budget, leaving us unable to afford roads or mental health services. The whole thing is insane at best and criminal at worst. Why do we allow these bureaucrats to steal our money and deprive our children the education they deserve?

The Legislature has the power to stop this lunacy, and it certainly should. I am so sick of hearing we need to raise taxes when I am already strapped on a fixed income, raising school-aged children and participating in all fundraising done by my PTA. Any and all taxes affect the citizens, whether they are direct taxes or taxes passed on by businesses in the form of higher prices. Any tax hike will negatively impact our state economy, period.

Look around Southern Nevada. There are still signs of the recession, and it is going to be a while before we realize full employment again. I know that the teachers union wants more money, and I believe it should have it, but not at my expense. It should come from the administrators, who seem to be clueless as to how to improve our education system.

NICHOLAS P. GARTNER

HENDERSON

MLS vs. NHL

To the editor:

Thank you for the comparison of the different approaches on bringing major league sports to Las Vegas (“MLS vs. NHL,” Feb. 2 Review-Journal). I hope Mayor Carolyn Goodman can see the difference and put her desire for a legacy for her and Oscar Goodman aside to follow the example of the Foley/Maloof group, which is seeking no taxpayer funds to achieve its goal.

I wish the Foley/Maloof group the best of luck and thank Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers for standing up for the taxpayers. Las Vegas is a world-class city, and its taxpayers shouldn’t be on the fiscal hook.

THOMAS C. MALICH SR.

LAS VEGAS

Government dependence

To the editor:

Gov. Brian Sandoval has turned out to be a RINO (Republican in Name Only). His challenge to public schools in the state to increase the number of children who eat breakfast at school sounds likes increasing dependence on the taxpayer (“Sandoval challenges schools to boost breakfast program,” Jan. 29 Review-Journal). Why is that a goal of the governor?

Why not challenge the schools to do more with their taxpayer dollars? Let’s leave parents with the responsibility of providing breakfast. Do we really need taxpayer dollars for this? Do we need school administrators telling our children what to eat for breakfast?

Gov. Sandoval wants schools to receive technical aid and equipment to improve their breakfast programs. And who will pay for this technical aid and equipment, along with its prizes and incentives? Maybe this nonsense is why the governor and school districts are always crying poor for education.

The challenge to schools should be to get more bang for the taxpayer buck. The incentive should be to teach smarter, and educate the students on how to live and spend conservatively. I managed to feed my child every day before he went to school, as did my parents and grandparents before them.

Our children no longer know why America was once great. We can be great again when we learn to accept responsibility for our children, our finances and our lives, instead of relying on government.

PAULA REBER

LAS VEGAS