Letters: Innovation, commitment can solve budget crisis

EDITOR,
As I sat in last Tuesday’s Scotts Valley Unified School District public meeting and listened to the presentation of the school district’s budget, I was struck not by how depressing the numbers are, but by the sense of frustration and defeat that both the superintendent and board members exuded. Parents came hoping to share ideas and get a better understanding of what we can do to help solve the problems. What we heard was “Contact your legislators, send letters; this is a state-level problem.” To be fair, we were told that the board plans to reach out to the community, to hear our ideas. Where was the sign-in sheet? Wouldn’t you want contact information for the people who cared enough to show up? Be innovative.
As a business owner, I have had to call on my staff’s creativity to weather this economy. Such adversity demands an open mind and new solutions. I challenge our board members and district administrators to proactively and sincerely reach out to our community. Enlist the talent our community has to offer. Why not have a few of our CFOs, financial analysts and business owners look over the budget and offer their ideas? Yes, the budget is a mess, but we can deal with this as a team of committed parents, teachers, board members and administrators. Let’s break the budget into digestible pieces and consider all options. Why not consider a parcel tax? Why not consider applying PTA funds to teacher salaries? Let’s jump out of the box and look at this with all the creativity and motivation that our community has to offer. Be bold. 
Our teachers should not be on the chopping block; they should be treated as valuable assets to whom we entrust most valuable asset, our children. As a community, we can solve our problems on a local level and make sure our teachers are protected. In today’s crisis economy, we should not be constrained by past failures or outdated solutions. Be committed.