Letters to the Editor for Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018

Retired need to be considered

What is wrong with this scenario? In today’s Carson Appeal tax revenue up 5.1 percent. First year’s pot sales smokes expectations. With these added millions dropping into the state and city coffers where is this money going? State and city employees got substantial pay raises but us retired citizens are left behind the eight ball again. How about doing the right thing and returning some of this money to the property owners in reduced property tax. Instead our property taxes go up 3 percent each year.

We are fighting daily inflation of daily living with no relief. My Social Security check went up zero dollars a month while my wife’s Social Security check went up $1 a month. You’re spending the money to try to beautify Carson City and its downtown district. Why, Carson City has never and will never be a destination place. You killed that by putting in the bypass freeway or maybe you do not understand the meaning of bypass?

I guess I can take that $1 monthly increase and go on Winnie and buy a burger. Wait a minute, last time I checked their cheap burger was $1.08 with sales tax.

Ronald Feldstein

Carson City

Graduating students deserve ceremony

My grandson attended Pine Middle School for both seventh and eighth grades. He just finished eighth grade, passing all of his classes with a 2.7 GPA — a B- average. He has been graduated/advanced and is now going to be attending ninth grade in high school. I asked my daughter if there was a graduation ceremony for the eighth graders who graduated. She called the school and was informed there was only an “Honors Ceremony” for those having a 3.0 GPA or better. This was held on a Thursday night and was a “By Invitation Only.”

Pine Middle School has an Hispanic ratio of 46.1 percent, white 42.3 percent and Asian 4.8 percent. Although my daughter was not invited to the honors ceremony because her son didn’t have a high enough GPA, she was informed that only about 25 percent of the students honored with a ceremony were Hispanic.

I believe that having a “Honors Ceremony” only for students who achieved a 3.0 GPA or better is very detrimental to the other students who passed their classes, but had a GPA below 3.0. The policy also left out many students. Every student advancing onto high school should be celebrated.

When my daughter met with the principal on the last day of school, she was informed by the principal there wasn’t enough room to do a graduation for all of the students. When she suggested having it over two nights, she was informed the teachers wouldn’t want to do that. During her meeting with the principal, she was also informed there had been a ceremony on the last day of school for all of the students who did not have a GPA of 3.0. The problem with that is the school did not bother to inform either the students or their parents, leaving both students and parents unaware. Many of the teachers even told students they didn’t need to go to school that day. There was no email or any communication regarding this ceremony for the students with a GPA below 3.0.

Personally, as an involved grandparent, I believe this needs to be looked at and changed. Pine Middle School needs to change this exclusive act of having a ceremony for a minority number of students to a ceremony that celebrates every student going to high school, not just honors students.

Joseph Lopez

Carson City