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GNA School Board all about teamwork
In the past few days, numerous letters to the editor appeared in the paper regarding specific members of the Greater Nanticoke Area School Board both past and present.
Since joining the board in November 2009, I have noticed a plethora of positive things being done to move GNA in the right direction. We are not perfect and we will never claim to be. But I must say, the current school board has raised the expectations of the educational standard being directed within the school district, and the administration and teachers are responding.
This board has opened up new and professional means of communication between the teacher union, support staff and administration; not many school districts can say the same. This past year all three contracts were negotiated on time and within budget because of the levels of professionalism and communication on both sides. The process was exemplary.
We understand there are areas that need some improvement within the district. They are not going without notice. Expectations of students are at an all-time high, and we need to meet those expectations.
 The school board is in daily communication with administration to see how things are progressing. We are working as a team to make the right decisions.
 Comments in the paper from individuals who do not even show up for the meetings are absurd. Anyone can talk the talk, but only a few are walking the walk. Those few are the current GNA School Board members. We take our positions seriously and are open to any public comments to make GNA a better school district.
Please support the GNA 5 &ndash; Prushinski, James, Verazin, Floryshak and Shepanski Jr. &ndash; on May 17. Let&rsquo;s keep the train rolling! 
Raup best person to be leader of W-B
I agree with Cheryl Bienick&rsquo;s letter to the editor Wednesday (&ldquo;Leighton, Raup should keep current positions.&rdquo;) However, if we are going to elect a new mayor, Charlotte Raup would be the best candidate due to her experience and love for the community.
She is a leader and works well with the people. She won&rsquo;t back down!
Everyone who is running for mayor has great ideas and intentions, I&rsquo;m sure.
I applaud all the candidates for taking the time and energy involved in this election; they all want what&rsquo;s best for the city.
But Charlotte Raup knows this city better than anyone. I know she cares about people&rsquo;s concerns and would do her best to make sure the city of Wilkes-Barre would be a great place in which to live, work, raise a family and retire.
Writer does not back Aciukewicz
In response to a Larksville councilman&rsquo;s recent support of attorney John Aciukewicz as a Common Pleas judge for Luzerne County, I must respectfully disagree.
I was active at borough council meetings and served on council for four years, one year as president. If attorney Aciukewicz&rsquo;s performance as borough solicitor is to be used as qualification to be a judge, in my opinion, he does not meet the standards.
Focus on cutting Wyo. Area deficit
In order to preserve education at Wyoming Area School District and &ldquo;hold the line on taxes,&rdquo; we must turn all our efforts toward better managing the district&rsquo;s finances.
During the primary campaign of 2009, I went door to door throughout the district talking to many people about the rapidly growing $1 million budget deficit. It was their gravest concern.
As the primary campaign of 2011 comes to a close, the deficit is soon to reach more than $3 million. If we do not focus on the deficit, this will cause the district&rsquo;s educational programs to be cut drastically and our school taxes to be increased considerably.
As we go to the polls, keep in mind to vote to resolve the deficit and develop a fiscal plan for the future.
Attend meetings for the lowdown
In regard to Luzerne borough&rsquo;s &ldquo;citizens meeting&rdquo; of March 24, I have to wonder just how gullible Kathleen Pajor and Kurt Santayana think the residents of Luzerne are.
Since the borough council already has taken a pay reduction, decreasing the number of council members would result in a monthly savings of only $160.
 The only thing a reduction of council membership and an election win for candidate Pajor would create is a Kurt Santayana-led majority of council. This majority probably would eliminate the borough police department, since there are currently two &ldquo;no votes&rdquo; against the monthly police hires.
If more Luzerne residents would attend the monthly council meeting, they would see what is going on in our town.
Dobash would protect taxpayers
 
In the November general election, some people complain that they have no good candidate for whom to vote. Perhaps it is because they do not vote in the May primary.
 The upcoming primary is very important, especially in the election of those running for Luzerne County Council. We are entering a new and perhaps dangerous phase of county government &ndash; one reliant upon a non-elected, strong, full-time county manager; an elected, weak, part-time council of 11 members; and a county controller who will see bills only after they have been paid.
This has never before been done in Pennsylvania. Of the six other counties with home rule, one has a commissioner form of government (Lackawanna), four have elected executives, and the one with an appointed manager (Delaware County) has a council of five, full-time members who make personnel and payroll decisions. Luzerne County government will be an experiment that will last for at least five years.
 It is imperative to elect candidates on the basis of a political philosophy that puts power back in the hands of elected representatives of the people and limits that of the bureaucracy, and which is for limited government.
 Kathy Dobash is one such candidate for Luzerne County Council. In her recent letter to the editor, she states that she wants to continue to do the work done by the county controller, Walter Griffith, to maintain accountability for expenditures and to eliminate waste and provide necessary county services.
 She would be a check-and-balance to limit the power of the manager to ensure that management policies would be in the best interests of the taxpayers. I am voting for Kathy Dobash, and for candidates such as her &ndash; those who will maintain transparency in government, who are approachable toward the electorate, who will protect the interests of the taxpayers and who will limit the power of the bureaucracy. I urge residents of Luzerne County to do the same. 
Voting in the primary on May 17 gives us a choice in November, and a better chance for good government in the future. 
U.S. schools need three Rs, less PC
The United States recently ranked 18th among the top 36 industrialized nations in terms of education, and we&rsquo;re failing all the time.
 
According to the Washington Post, the most catastrophic failures are in the math and science fields, which directly affect our economy. Excellence seemingly has become a four-letter word. America can&rsquo;t recover her economy if we don&rsquo;t have the brain power. What drives our largest manufacturers to go offshore? It&rsquo;s not only because wages are cheaper; it&rsquo;s also because the brain pool is better.
Every great civilization &ndash; Rome, Greece, the British Empire &ndash; has been destroyed or diminished from within. It&rsquo;s the attitudes of the citizenry who let morals and standards slide.
Is it too late for us to save ourselves from ourselves? I sincerely hope not. Our future rests with this generation and future generations. 
Before we, yes, we, kill education, let us get back to the three Rs. The three Rs have been re-defined but are still essentially the same. How can such a high percentage of students achieve status in our honor societies today, compared to years past, while our schools in general can&rsquo;t achieve rank in the international community? Is it because we&rsquo;ve diluted the standards?
Educating a child is a difficult but honored task for a good teacher. But rejecting pressure from parents, and from members of school boards who ask to advance children who don&rsquo;t deserve that kind of recognition, is something with which no teacher wants to deal.
Some school board members, caught between the crossfire of taxpayers and accountability, just aren&rsquo;t capable of making the right decisions. They simply choose to either throw the educators under the bus or grant academic or political favors to taxpayers. Add that to the already dismal voter confidence.
Demand that courts stop giving every individual group new &ldquo;rights&rdquo; and permit educators to exercise a degree of power without fear of legal retribution. Replace political correctness with common sense. Repeal &ldquo;No Child Left Behind,&rdquo; and for the first time in many years, start the school day with &ldquo;Let the learning begin.&rdquo; 
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GNA School Board all about teamwork In the past few days, numer