Thank yous

Reader grateful for support

Many, many thanks to all of you for the thoughts, prayers, phone calls, cards and meals during my surgery and recovery. God bless every one of you.

Elsie Burdick,

Poulsbo

Thank you for the kindness

Words cannot express the heartfelt thanks for the love and kindness shown to me and my family at the celebration of life for Glenn Danielson. He was a special person to all of us and a friend to many, many people here in Washington, Alaska, California, Missouri and Idaho. Thank you for sharing your stories about Glenn, for the flowers, the cards, and most of all the love. His memory lives. Thank you all and may God bless you.

Barbara Cloud and the Morgan, Davidson, Geissiner and Kelley families

NK Pool

Efforts to save pool are impressive

I want to applaud the North Kitsap Community for their noble fundraising efforts to save the North Kitsap Pool. I am constantly impressed and awed by our loyal community spirit.

Even if the funds are produced to save the pool for this next year, what of the next year and the following?

Is the community to be forced to re-buy what we have already bought year after year because the school board cannot get their financial house in order?

Why is the district hiring more and more staff even during declining enrollment?

A gap of $350,000 could be easily bridged with laying off four administrators from the 74 new staff members hired since 2001.

The North Kitsap community as a whole needs to assert their values and priorities upon the elected school board officials who seem to either lack leadership or effective financial management skills.

If our elected school board does not share the same values and priorities of the electorate, then they should either resign or be replaced.

It is time that the elected school board stands up and makes a commitment to their North Kitsap community.

I for one intend on making this known to them, that they can and will be replaced for their lack of leadership and mismanagement.

Jeff Dennison

Poulsbo

NK Schools

Reader Sound-Off was right on

Mr. Andrew Coulson is to be commended for providing some facts regarding the funding of schools and repudiating general statements that state school funding is “way inadequate.”

Well done Mr. Coulson and thank you Herald for printing the letter for us all to learn from.

The county has five school districts (North Kitsap, Central Kitsap, South Kitsap, Bremerton and Bainbridge Island) each with its own school superintendent.

The average salary for those superintendents was over $120,000 per year in 2004 (the average did not include Bainbridge Island — that district was arrogant enough to refuse to provide the information).

The administrative staffs were basically redundant for the districts and cost almost $2 million for the county (again less Bainbridge Island which refused to provide data).

Mr. Coulson is correct regarding the lack of incentive for school districts to improve cost efficiency.

When they need to support, as Mr. Coulson reported, 74 new hires to teach 292 fewer students, they simply cry for more money. Currently that cry is focused on the unfairness of state funding.

Next it will be focused on some new or increased levy. They do not care where they get the money.

Why does Kitsap County need five school districts with five superintendents and five redundant staffs?

That’s about $8 million (in 2004 money). Maybe five districts were necessary when it took a couple of days to drive a horse and buggy from Kingston to Port Orchard. Cannot see the need today.

Businesses consolidate to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Kitsap County needs to improve their operation and join the new century.

William Marsh

Poulsbo