I think Lori Sauter is a bitter woman. I have never seen her offer any positive solutions to help the school district. Instead, she once enlisted the help of a convicted felon (G. Gordon Liddy), and his radio talk show, to use outside pressure to attack the school board, in order to force them to allow her son to wear a Marine Corps uniform at his high school graduation, even though he had not completed his basic training.
For a big city woman, she should have know that the salaries of Mike McMillan and his crew are well under the average salaries paid to superintendents and teachers on the front range. Our children receive an excellent education in Delta County. We are documented as one of the best school districts in the State, not only by the Commissioner of Education, but by the Governor himself. Mike McMillan and the employees of our school district could easily get a job in a circus as tight rope walkers for their ability to deliver the best possible education to our children on a shoe string budget. Delta County is one of the poorest school districts in the state of Colorado.
I have been a volunteer in this school district for over 10 years. In my opinion, I think the salaries of Mike McMillan and the entire school district should be increased! Our children’s educational future is in their hands.
I say, “Shame on you, Lori Sauter! Your bitterness and hatred for Delta County is self-evident. And by the way, the Delta County School District has already considered pay cuts from the top down!”
Daniel Flemming
Austin, CO
Dear Editor:
I read with interest the article entitled "School district agonizes over budget cuts." Why is it that any time budgets must be cut, the first things that suffer are schools, police, and fire departments? Could it possibly be because those in power know that taxpayers will usually give in and accept tax increases to support those institutions?
I have three suggestions to bring the budget back in line:
1. Cut nonessential items out. I know there must be fat and 'pet projects' in the state budget.
2. Dedicate lottery funds to education. I think this would take a vote of the people, but I believe that it would pass. We have plenty of parks and other 'open space' at this point.
3. Promote the wise extraction of our natural resources. Govenor Ritter has greatly decreased our oil and gas revenues. Radical environmentalists had already made great in-holds into destroying the timber and mining industries.
Let's go back to common-sense harvest of our resources, reap the benefits of increased employment and higher tax revenues, and stop sending our dollars to Canada for lumber, to Mexico for beef, vegetables, and produce, to China for apple concentrate, to South America for minerals, and to the Middle East for oil.
Angie Many
Eckert, Colo.
Dear Editor:
Is this right?
We just received two Colorado vehicle license renewal statements in the mail. One is for a 10-year old 4-wheel drive pickup. The tax value on the statement is $17972. It has a V-8 engine, automatic transmission, and carries a full camper. It gets around 15
MPG unless it is towing the horse trailer. It can be used to go to the store, go to the high country, or travel. It is a very handy tool. It can haul a load of wood or trash to the dump. The license fee is $67.97. The ownship tax is $3.
The other statement is for an 8-year old horse trailer. The tax value is $5613. It doesn't have a motor, a transmission or even windows. It is not capable of doing anything unless it is towed, then it can only follow. It is just a lump of metal available only to haul a horse or two. It is not very heavy and is seldom used. It uses no gas and pollutes no air. It only takes up space. The license fee is $48.77. The ownership tax is $19.69.
The bottom line is that Colorado, under Governor Ritter wants, no demands, $70.97 to drive the pickup as many miles as needed doing a myriad of chores while they want $68.46 to let a trailer sit and do nothing for most of the year.
Am I missing something here?
Bill Sutton
Delta, Colo.
