Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/321711
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS DistrictAttorney'swell- timed diligence Editor: Wouldn't it be nice if the Dis- trict Attorney's office showed as much diligence all the time like it does during an election year? Seems politics trumps duty. —BarryLaVette,RedBluff Supervisor salaries should be merit-based Editor: On June 3, Tehama County residents will decide whether to nearly quadruple the supervi- sors' salaries — from $1,035 to $3,795/mo. This begs the ques- tion, why buy the cow when we're already getting the milk for free? Obviously, vote no on Measure B. I don't object to the supervi- sors making more money, but make it performance-based. Give them a limited bonus con- tingent to their reducing the county's net operating costs for the year. For example, if they go over budget, they only get $1,035/mo., but if they finish un- der, they get a bonus commen- surate with the money saved — everybody wins. Another advantage of this would be that the potential to earn more money would entice more competent candidates to run for the supervisor positions. Measure C would allow su- pervisors to fill vacancies with friends or relatives. This is an easy no — diversity is better. Measure A tells the super- visors the county wants to di- vorce California and run off with the State of Jefferson. We do. Even if ultimately unsuc- cessful, it'll send a wake-up call to the legislature that the north state's residents and resources aren't theirs to exploit. — Nathan Esplanade, Corning County has opportunity with North Editor: On June 3, our county has a unique opportunity to vote in one of the most qualified indi- viduals that has come around in a very long time. Harley North has every rea- son to hang up his saddle and settle back into retirement. He has done his job well. But ex- ceptional leaders can't do that when there is a job to be done. As a teacher of 15 years and an employee of the Evergreen School District, I experienced first hand the strong leader- ship style of Harley North as Evergreen School's adminis- trator and the trickle down ef- fect. Exceptional leaders lead well. They make those around them successful, while they sup- port their strengths. They build community in their midst. Harley knew that in order for our students to succeed, we all had to be a part of the process. Our staff, teachers, parents and students worked side-by-side to accomplish this goal. Harley's vi- sion was big, but doable. He hired people that shared in his mission. Now, there will always be the naysayers that fear change and enjoy that oh-so-comfortable status quo. I believe that they are the exception and that our community is ready for a big vision for all Tehama County schools. Our students and fu- ture leaders deserve it. This is why my husband, a law enforcement officer, and I will cast a confident vote for Harley North as Tehama County Superintendent of Schools on June 3. — Patricia Kenyon, Corning Allen has proven leadership Editor: I have worked as a math con- sultant and math coach at the Tehama County Department of Education for the past eight years and am proud to say I have worked with Charles Allen during his tenure as Deputy Su- perintendent of Schools for Te- hama County. Under Charles' leadership our county office has grown our support of county schools and continued to build relationships, not only with school leaders, but also with teachers and students. His leadership has created an environment conducive to schools being able to move forward more so than ever before. Charles is all about service. His goal has al- ways been and will continue to be to serve our schools and our chil- dren in the very best ways possi- ble by providing us with the tools and opportunities we need to do that work. Charles Allen is a man of prin- ciple and integrity who under- stands the importance of build- ing relationships as well as having the ability and the expe- rience to lead the diverse schools and districts in our county. I am one of the many employ- ees at the Tehama County De- partment of Education who are looking forward to continuing our work supporting schools un- der Charles Allen's leadership. — Maureen Clements, Red Bluff Problems with current leadership Editor: As the race for County Su- perintendent of Schools devel- ops, a number of problems with our current leadership have come to light — specifically Charles Allen's falsification of his educational background. A number of people and the candi- date himself have tried to down- play the seriousness of what he did saying it is a minor matter or it was not very much money. The crux of the matter is that Charles Allen could not have been hired by the Tehama County Department of Educa- tion if he had truthfully filled out his employment application. A master's degree was a re- quirement as clearly stated on the employment flyer. His entire salary and the stipend he re- ceived since 2009 has been paid due to this misrepresentation. This and the fact he has been misrepresenting his educational background prior to his employ- ment by the county office raises concerns in my mind about his fitness to lead an office that oversees the operations of every school district in this county. The current superintendent has consistently supported Al- len in spite of these revelations. This indicates to me a failure to uphold high standards of lead- ership. Allen seems to represent more of the same. I would encourage voters to support Harley North for County Superintendent of Schools. He has a long track record of hon- esty and dedication to making schools work for our children. We don't need more of the same. — John Szychulda, Red Bluff Allen has served all the schools Editor: With regard to the race for County Superintendent of Schools, there are a few things that folks should consider when making their choice. Of the two candidates, one of them has of- fered his service and support to all of the schools in Tehama County for the past five years. Of the two candidates, one has been there in support of those of us, like myself, who provide ser- vice to all of the schools in this county. Charles Allen has my vote and my complete confidence that he will do what's right for our kids. He has been an ex- traordinary leader as Deputy Superintendent, and if we put our faith in him to take the helm at the Department of Education, he will not let us down. I encourage you to take a quick look at the list of endorse- ments on each of the candi- date's websites. The position of county superintendent requires this person to work closely with current school leadership. Charles Allen has the support of an overwhelming number of our current school leaders. He also has a long list of current Department of Education em- ployees who support him. His opponent boasts a long list of supporters whose names are preceded by the words "retired" and "former." We should be thoughtful in choosing a leader who has the support of those whom the county superintendent will have to interact with on a day-to-day basis. Charles Allen has that support and is the right man for the job. — Michelle Carlson, Red Bluff North for Tehama County Editor: Why I am supporting Har- ley North for Superintendent of Schools? Personal integrity and hon- esty resulting in fiscal integrity and honesty. Clear, authentic and honest qualifications. Outstanding job approval rat- ing while Superintendent of Ev- ergreen School District. Clear record of placing the students and education first re- sulting in vastly and substan- tially improved grades and scores. Establishing Evergreen as the preeminent school district in Tehama County. Personal dedication and commitment to seeing the job through to completion before self and personal advancement. No fraudulent misrepresen- tation of job qualifications, i.e. master's degree, to step in front of authentically and legally qualified candidates. Absence of false claim, pos- sessing and having earned and received a master's degree to increase pay. I urge all Tehama County voters to vote for Harley North. — Thomas Fausone, Cottonwood Equivalency is standard practice Editor: With all the political mud- slinging aimed at the candidate for County Superintendent of Schools the question now seems to be is there such a thing as equivalency? The head of the master's pro- gram at Chico State has stated that there is no such thing and from her perspective I imagine there isn't. From her position as the head of the department she wants to protect the value of the degree. But, from an employers point of view equivalency is the tool that allows the employer to hire the best candidate for the job rather than the candidate with the most recognized cre- dentials. Consequently, most employers waive credentials in favor of experience and exper- tise in order to employ the best candidate in their eyes. To those who say this is not the way it is in the field of edu- cation I say they are wrong and that this is exactly how it is in the field of education. As past Regional Director of the California School Boards As- sociation, I was the liaison to the Association of California School Administrators. This is the or- ganization representing pub- lic school superintendents in the state of California. The ACSA board consisted of superinten- dents from throughout the state. The board frequently dis- cussed superintendent con- tracts and I spoke directly with the ACSA official who was re- sponsible for assisting and writ- ing superintendent contracts throughout the state. Equivalency was always ref- erenced as an acceptable pre- rogative or option on the part of the employer. So, where does this bring us? I think that the answer is who will best represent and sup- port the students of Tehama County? In the five or so years that Charles Allen has worked as as- sistant and deputy superinten- dent of the Tehama County De- partment of Education he has supported and assisted all our students in the county, has forged positive relationships with all the school districts and has taken an active interest in all things Tehama. His ability is not being ques- tioned by those who deal with him but rather by those with personal interests not related to children's education. — Steve Meagher, Red Bluff Superintendent election Editor: I am writing to say I am very concerned about Charles Al- len, who is supposed to educate our children but has misrepre- sented his qualifications for the sought after position. Being our local top educator should start with some honesty. What type of example does this set for our children? To me it says that lying and cheating pay off. How can our local top educator sit in a position of au- thority and be an example to our children when he lied right from the start. Were there other individuals more qualified or equally quali- fied that lost out on the position because of an individual saying he had met the criteria for the position when in fact he did not? Kind of crazy but many of my fellow citizens just seem fine with keeping someone who mis- represented his qualifications to get a job he didn't qualify for. I just don't understand how peo- ple who did do the work of ob- taining a master's degree are pushed aside to let someone who willfully misrepresented his qualifications is backed by some of our local voters. What a slap in the face to the honest people of our county. Why didn't Allen receive a master's degree as he said he did? If he did all of the course work and his thesis why doesn't he have a master's degree? Something just isn't right here and Allen seems to want to blame every one from the county to his opponent, Harley North. I have not heard him say once that he was the one responsible for all of the confusion. He was paid with the under- standing that he had received a master's and did nothing to cor- rect the misrepresentation. He received pay and benefits for his educational background. I con- sider this fraud at the very least and think if he has any integ- rity left he should remove him- self from the ballot and resign his current position. If elected it will end up in court and cost our county even more tax dollars. By lying your way to a posi- tion you don't deserve is just an- other way to bilk the honest citi- zens of Tehama County. I am casting my vote for North. His dedication to the Ev- ergreen School District has paid off in improved scores and grades. His dedication to the ed- ucation of our children is very apparent in Evergreen and his proposals over the years have boosted Evergreen into being a very desirable place to move just to have your child in this school district. My vote for North is due to his qualifications and job ap- proval rating while being su- perintendent of Evergreen, not some made up story he has used to fraudulently obtain a higher position and pay to bilk the good citizens of our county. — Sarah Bower, Cottonwood Saturday soapbox Cartoonist's take OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, May 31, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4