[Alumni-chat] Carrying On

[Jane Slater (imabused at aol.com)]

Laura thank you for the reply.

It is very difficult to know who is connected to what around here, and it becomes frustrating with the "good news" from all sides. 

Also, as you know I'm a big fan of transparency, and I sure don't agree that it was known by anyone that the Board had an intention to close the college.

Where I live, it was announced by county authorities in January that suddenly due to a significant budget shortfall (that it was just announced no longer exists), the 15 libraries would be closing. The choice of libraries as a target was a budgetary decision which I liken to the decision to pull the rug out from the College. Arbitrary.

We have had no libraries since March. You drive past them at night, they are lit up, and the books are there, but no one is allowed inside. Orwellian? You decide.

As a follow-up to that, after all the union librarians were terminated by the county, the county authorities decided to open up the library operations to bidded proposals. The union and a private agency with a terrible reputation both submitted proposals. Guess who won?

Then... one city in the district has just voted on a tax levy to supplement the meager hours offered by this new private agency who is going to run the libraries. So we have a very wealthy community whose citizens will have more library hours = more access to books = more education = more opportunities. 

The authorities running the county have very different priorities for their money than do many citizens here. 

Raising money is great but sometimes it just won't buy quality.

Uh, sound familiar?

Next chapter...  parallels with the Bushie administration. If I can write it without getting even sicker. Bleh.

Jane Slater
Ashland, OR
Class of '80