Letters to the Editor

Addressing boisterous, long PVUSD meetings What occurred at the PVUSD board meeting last month should never have happened.  Trustee Joy Flynn’s response to a shout from the crowd about “blood on your hands” posed no threat, and was likely a reference to a belief that...

PVUSD board was right to make cuts when they did Brandon Diniz has written an impassioned guest Sentinel editorial; but he left out details on why the expediency, the reason for the cutbacks, and the continual disruption. The District is required to submit their proposed budget...

Praise for Watsonville Fire Chief Lopez In 1996, I took my New School students to the Watsonville Fire Department on Second Street for an educational tour.  There I met fireman Rudy Lopez, who took an interest in my "second chance" high school students.  I met...

Suggestions for PVUSD My recommendations regarding the Recommended Realignments of PVUSD: 1. Regarding school closure, I have advocated for an idea to sell the District Office Building and move it to a school—which should be considered for closing—since 2024. I also would like to advocate for...

Medina ‘not shrinking back’ after Lelieur letter Mr. Lelieur’s letter (Nov. 21-28, p. 8) tries to present a clear picture of the PVUSD Nov. 12 board meeting, but anyone who was present or watched the recording knows his version doesn’t match reality. The board president...

Criticism for Medina PVUSD trustee Gabriel Medina never fails to amaze me. From challenging the right of a Christian woman from a Midwest Bible college to student teach, to threatening to sue the district for $35,000, his conduct has been a lesson on how not...

PVUSD cuts necessary The Pajaro Valley Unified School District is finally being forced to face financial reality. Many of the positions now being eliminated were funded by one-time Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, which expired in February 2024. That temporary COVID money...

Trump is a Vector of Chaos Using a phrase I learned from my wife's family, this is only my “pee pot opinion”, but I've been writing these observations for nine years, and almost all have turned out to be spot on. So, here we go: Trump...

Teachers are educators, not activists In a recent opinion piece, the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers expressed concern on being silenced in the classroom. PVUSD teachers need to be reminded that they have a civic role to be educators. The concept that they are change...

Organophosphates Endanger Our Children’s Future 25 years ago, when Dr. Brenda Eskenazi and her UC Berkeley team at the School of Public Health began taking blood and urine samples of pregnant women and young children in the Salinas Valley, they figured that anyone living within...