Carmel Unified School District

Thank you to the Monterey Herald for the excellent coverage last week concerning the administrative mess at the Carmel Unified School District. If I were a parent in that district I would be very angry and demand a change in how sexual harassment allegations are handled. Let’s see, two assistant principals have resigned, the principal has been “removed,” the school board president has resigned, the River School principal is retiring, the director of communications has resigned. Has the new president of the school board resigned yet? I can’t keep track. Now $20,000 dollars is being spent to investigate complaints about sexual harassment.

My suggestion is that the district should hire a private full-time investigator who will work with the local police department to follow up and prosecute adults and students who commit crimes on the school grounds. This includes sexual harassment cases which are very time-consuming and sometimes difficult to prove. That way parents, students and staff with complaints about alleged sexual misconduct can have the attention of a full-time “resource officer” without interfering with the work of the school administrators, the teachers and the school board. Teachers can concentrate on teaching, students can devote themselves to learning and school board presidents can focus on school board business without the distraction of actual or unproven allegations. Carmel Unified’s reputation has been badly damaged by all the resignations and forced removal of competent and valuable staff members. Let’s get back to educating students.

— Carol Marquart, Pacific Grove

Trained professional

The trained professional aboard the private jet that recently crashed in Virginia is a very sympathetic figure. Referred to as the “nanny,” she was an employee of the Trump-supporting wealthy owners of the aircraft. This is an accident with tragic consequences for everyone, especially the childcare specialist who died when the plane went down.

— Bob Hogue, Pacific Grove

LIV and let LIV

Of all today’s first-world problems, the co-mingling of LIV golf with the PGA Tour must head the list.

Regardless of any euphemistic platitudes about how great this will be and why it is now the ultimate venue to not only promote golf worldwide but also to demonstrate the new Saudi Arabia, this proposed merger is simply all about money.

The hypocrisy of the initial very public statements made by the Commissioner of the PGA Tour rival those made by current day politicians. Likely, the PGA Tour knew that it was only a matter of time before the Saudis invested even more of their bottomless pit of money in a more expansive competitive golf venture than the floundering LIV Tour. Securing a position on the ground floor was likely a financially sound business decision lest the price and terms of any future merger inflate to the PGA’s disadvantage.

It seems that professional tournament golf and its participants are already steeped in money, but I guess a little extra never hurts.

I am sure that the residents of Ukraine, Uganda and Darfur could care less about the consternation which this money grab has so acutely caused for some of those living in our world.

— Bob Cushing, Carmel

Food stamp foolishness

According to the recent Herald article, the Republicans, the party supposedly opposed to bigger government and oppressive regulations, insisted on a work requirement for those folks living high on the hog on food stamps, thereby necessitating a huge bureaucracy that will undoubtedly cost far more than the welfare assistance doled out. Apparently, their disdain for more government is outweighed by their belief that poor people not only deserve their poverty, but should publicly display their neediness to all. At least they backed off their initial proposal called “Arbeiten Macht Food Stamps,” which would have required all recipients to prominently display on their clothing a large letter “S,” standing for “slacker,” but more moderate folks thought that had a bad vibe.

— Glenn Nolte, Carmel Valley