Current leadership will wreck schools

I have been reading the media reports in which Kokomo-Center Superintendent Chris Himsel has reported that KCS will lose more than $4 million in funding for the corporation general fund.

Let me say that I was involved in education as an administrator for most of my career, and one thing I know to be true is that superintendents and business managers are great at distorting and even hiding financial budgets.

The entire time I was with Kokomo-Center Schools, there was always a 9 percent surplus above the budget. That would mean that with a $45 million budget, we should have an overage of $4.05 million in the general fund.

This superintendent is now saying that beginning in his first year just this last year, the overage or surplus is just 6 percent. This was due to the loss of property tax income and the loss from Delphi and Chrysler taxes. However, he has most recently said that Delphi and Chrysler are now paying their taxes. So what is the real number now? No one knows – except the superintendent, business manager and most likely the board president, Joe Dunbar.

OK, let’s talk about a 6 percent overage of the budget. That would mean we are holding $2.7 million in our excess funds. Mr. Dunbar and Mr. Himsel, it is time to pull monies from the cookie jar. In addition, I read in the paper that we are now going to save $2 million by reorganizing and closing schools. I had several of my family members attend your town hall school meetings around the corporation and at that time last year, you told taxpayers attending those meetings we would save $4 million and that would allow you to give teachers raises.

Mr. Himsel, which is it and how in the world could you be making a glaring $2 million mistake? You and Mr. Dunbar better get your information accurate if you want people to believe you. It is my way of thinking that before you put this gloom-and-doom information out to our teachers, you should have shared some sort of plan regarding how you are going to deal with it.

I have talked with numerous teachers in our corporation, and the attitude before this even came out was one of low morale and despair. I’ll bet the answer you and Joe Dunbar have will be to cut staff or perhaps cut everyone’s salary instead of reducing staff. If you will take a close look at the numbers I have given you, there might be a solution. If we have an overage of $2.7 million in last year’s budget and $2 million in savings from consolidation or closing schools, the math would work for most people.

Mr. Dunbar and Mr. Himsel, these are people’s lives, as well as their families, you are playing with. People of this community better wake up or you will have a school system far worse than it already is now. You have the highest paid superintendent in school corporation history costing the corporation $190,000 per year and in his second year, he is going to tell you we need to cut staff and/or salaries.

As a result of what I am hearing from the staff in our corporation, I am giving strong consideration to running for a position on the Kokomo-Center School Board. Continuation of the leadership as it stands will wreck our schools.

Willard Rice

Kokomo

Kokomo Tribune has a racial bias

It was so refreshing to see the front page story and picture of Jason Spear as he received an Indiana state organization’s Teacher of the Year award. For starters, I am happy for him and congratulate him.

Secondly, it was nice to see an African-American’s picture on the front page that had nothing to do with crime. The Tribune seems to relish sensationalizing any criminal activity which involves black males.

I have on many occasions begged the newspaper to cover an event involving African-American service organizations. They have seldom been even mildly interested. Grace Trahan was here three years ago to do a major formal event for my church. She is a part of the media and the newspaper did not send anyone to even say hello to her.

The last time I went downtown and made an in-person request that they cover my public service sorority’s book giveaway and reading to children at Studebaker Park this past spring. I was told that the photographer had another event and he would stop by if he chose to. There was no indication that he would have an actual assignment to do so. Our event was at 9 a.m. and his scheduled assignment was for that afternoon.

Perhaps I should have called that Saturday morning and reported that there was criminal activity going on in the park. It’s likely there would have quickly been a photographer and a reporter on the scene.

I am sure that the paper does not see itself as being biased. I totally disagree with that viewpoint. The Kokomo Tribune is much too comfortable being no better than they have to be.

Pat Crittendon

Kokomo

Insurance firms don’t deserve entire blame

I read with great interest, and some amusement, as attorney Mark Hurt proceeded to lay the bulk of the blame for health care costs at the feet of insurance companies. This comes as no surprise to me.

I have often pointed out that attorneys blame doctors and insurance companies, doctors blame attorneys and insurance companies, and insurance companies blame doctors and attorneys. It’s a vicious cycle that will have no end until all three own up to their fair share of the blame and work together to solve the problem without the help of government.

Given the likelihood of that (i.e., zip, zilch, nada), government should act, but not to come down on one group as the present Obamacare proposals do.

Perhaps you can recruit a spokesperson from the health care industry to address the problem, and someone who will speak on behalf of the insurance industry in a kind of counterpoint to Mr. Hurt’s opinions.

Rick Glover

Kokomo