sarahNo Judge. No Jury.
To the Editor:
No judge. No jury. No trial.
Put him on the ground.
Shoot him.
He’s dead.
Ross Connelly, Hardwick
Why I’ll Be Attending “Understanding Israeli Apartheid” Feb. 7
To the Editor:
I’ve lived in Montpelier long enough to know we care deeply about justice. We compost. We show up for flood relief. We write letters to the editor. We believe in human rights — for everyone.
That’s why I’ll be at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 2 to 5:30 p.m., for a community event called Understanding Israeli Apartheid. It’s hosted by the Apartheid-Free Community of Montpelier, and it’s about Article 13 — the ballot measure that asks our city to affirm its commitment to human rights and oppose Israeli apartheid.
I know that word — apartheid — makes people uncomfortable. It’s a heavy word. But it’s also the word used by organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B’Tselem to describe the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. It’s a legal term. And it’s happening now.
At the event, speaker Hamed Bakir will walk us through what apartheid means for us Vermonters and what it looks like in Palestine: the checkpoints, the surveillance, the bombings, the denial of basic rights. Apartheid-Free Community Montpelier will explain what Article 13 would mean for Montpelier — how we can join other Vermont towns in pledging to divest from companies that profit from apartheid and affirm our values as a community.
This isn’t about division. It’s about clarity. It’s about saying: we don’t make exceptions when it comes to human rights. Not for Palestinians. Not for anyone.
I hope you’ll come. Ask questions. Listen. Reflect. Because the more we understand, the more we can act — not just as voters, but as neighbors.
Roeda Tura, Montpelier
Replace Teacher Cuts with Admin Cuts
To the Editor:
I appreciated Phil Dodd’s story “Vermont’s Student Count Keeps Falling ….” in the Jan. 21 issue of The Bridge regarding the Feb. 10 vote in Calais and Worcester, and the Washington Central Unified Union School District’s (WCUUSD’s) future plans.
The article did not address, however, the ballooning central office administrative costs, which now total more than $10 million of the total $43 million district budget. The district’s central office administrative employees have received raises totaling 16% in the past three years, as their contracts are tied to the teachers’ negotiated salary increases.
I propose we uncouple administrative salaries from the teacher contract negotiations. This extraordinary budget year is a year the central office administrative salaries should be held to a minimum.
I challenge the WCUUSD board and superintendent to provide central office administrative costs and salaries in detail so the voting public can understand our choices. So far, those costs have been split into several areas of the budget, and thereby obscured.
With declining student enrollment, and declining employee numbers, could more budget cuts be found at the central office? Could some positions be merged?
In preparation for the Feb. 10 vote in Calais and Worcester, I am actively looking for common ground. We will be dealing with the fallout from this contentious issue for decades. We cannot divide neighbor from neighbor as we decide our schools’ future.
If we sharpen our pencils on administrative costs district-wide, we could restore teaching positions that the superintendent recommends cutting at the elementary schools. We need to right-size our student-to-teacher ratio in all six district schools.
If the two towns vote “no,” we preserve a wider range of options, including community decisions about educating our younger local students close to home.
Linda Gray, Calais
Letters to the editor represent the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of The Bridge. Submit your letter by email to editor@montpelierbridge.com. Preference is given to submissions by those who live in central Vermont, should not exceed 300 words in length, and may be edited for brevity and accuracy.
