Letters to the editor: May 30, 2012

Shame on CLIP for going too far
I moved from Philadelphia a couple of decades ago, and I’m glad I no longer live in Philly! After visiting family and reading about CLIP, I am truly appalled at the decline. For crying out loud, this is the birthplace of America. This is where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell; Carpenter Hall, where the Continental Congress met to discuss important matters of freedom; the Betsy Ross House; Benjamin Franklin; and the Declaration House, also known as Graff House, where Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence!
I totally agree with Dee Maialetti’s letter of March 28, Yo, CLIP, just who do you think you are? As an American citizen who was liberated by the U.S. Army in post-WWII Germany, I find this sort of “patrolling,” trespassing, photographing and fining of the homeowners to be a violation of our rights against unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. These Gestapo tactics are an abuse of our civil liberties!
It is one thing to go after absentee landlords who neglect to maintain their properties; it’s quite another to target the elderly, the disabled and the poor. Shame, shame, shame! For those who condone this abuse, I suggest a course in American history. I would also encourage you to get online and read the indictment against the nine CLIP criminals! Put yourself in the shoes of your neighbors: Would you want to be treated this way? (http://www.phila.gov/districtattorney/PDFs/Presentment.pdf)
I am surprised that the citizenry has not risen up and demanded that this “program” be dismantled. Whatever happened to the concept that a man‘s home is his castle? I would have filed a class action lawsuit against the city by now, and involved the Justice Department!
Lydia F. Selwood
Harrisonburg, Va.

Please help save St. Josaphat School
We were devastated to learn that St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic School, at 4521 Longshore Ave., may have to close its doors at the end of this school year due to declining enrollment.
My niece is now attending sixth grade there, and last year her sister was class valedictorian. Both are high honor roll students.
It is an excellent school with Catholic teaching, high scholastic standards, small class sizes and extremely caring teachers and staff.
My niece, who is now in high school, is now being taught the same geometry and other subjects that she learned in seventh grade at St. Josaphat.
Right now, parents are being forced to look for other schools in the area. Most Catholic schools in the area have long waiting lists.
If your child is presently on a waiting list for an area school, please consider St. Josaphat for September. St. Josaphat offers pre-K through eighth grade, as well as after-school care programs. They will gladly meet with prospective parents and students and will give tours for those interested. You can contact the principal, Mrs. McIntyre, at 215-332-8008.
Helen Banushi
Mayfair

The sorry situation with the school district
Reading the newspaper or watching the news about the School District of Philadelphia’s money problems is making me sick.
One thing I do not understand is the school district’s request for more money. You know where the money is going to come from — homeowners.
People cannot afford to live with another real estate tax increase. If you have checked the figures, it is the same areas that always pay their real estate taxes when they are due. There are plenty of responsible homeowners and landlords, but it is the irresponsible ones who are hurting things.
If some people have not noticed, there are so many houses for sale in this city.  The city cannot collect back taxes, both real estate and income tax, or for that matter, forfeited bail. People have gotten tired of the morons in government and moved out. From the days of our last three so-called superintendents, the school district has been and is one big screw-up. The school district is one big money pit.
They cannot even decide how much they need or how much they are short. They want to try and blame it all on the teachers, but that is a crock of bull. Sure, there are some teachers that may not be as good as others, but who hired the bad ones? The citizens will have to foot the bill unless they get off of their rear ends and stop playing Farmville.
The worst thing that ever happened was President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. Learning in school starts with what goes on at home. It is the parents’ job to bring up their children and teach them what is right and what is wrong. Parents need to be involved in their children’s lives and their school. You do not like what their teacher is doing? Go right to them. After all, you are paying their salaries. They work for you.
A large majority of today’s kids just do not care. Violence in schools is worse than ever, despite what the propaganda ministers at the school district tell you. I blame our last three mayors and those who are running and have run the board of education and the School Reform Commission. Things got worse when the politicians and the government got involved. I get tired of hearing about so-called education experts. How much classroom time do the principals, or for that matter, district supervisors, have?
I would love to see kids rewarded for good grades and penalized for bad ones. Want to play sports or be involved in school activities? Then keep at least a B average. Do not get me wrong — there are a lot of great parents, it is just that the so called school district officials could not find their own rear ends if it was not attached to their bodies.
I would like to see the school district police taken over by the Police Department, and start arresting the animals that cause problems in schools. Kids need to respect authority or suffer extreme consequences if they mess up.
The school district and the city government are pathetic. If they try to put any tax increase through or adjust the real estate tax rates, then they all need to be impeached. People that claim to be education experts are just like restaurant reviewers. They could not succeed in real life, in the area they claim to be experts in.
When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town, I would love to see the people at the school district join the circus! They are all a bunch of clowns.
When the tax base moves away, guess who pays? The people who are left. The city should also be able to go after landlords who are late on their real estate taxes, by garnishing their rental income from their rental properties.
Ronald Moskovitz
Oxford Circle

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Letters should be 300 words or less. Short letters have a better chance of getting published. All letters are subject to editing and MUST include the writer’s full name along with daytime and evening phone numbers for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will NOT be published. Mail to: Letters to the Editor, Northeast Times, 2512 Metropolitan Drive, Trevose, PA 19053. Fax: 215-355-4857. E-mail: pronews@bsmphilly.com