Where were the Polson students?

Editor,

The 2008 Lake County Spelling Bee was held at the Glacier View SDA School on Thursday, March 13. Nearly 50 students from Arlee, Charlo, Glacier View, Dayton, Ronan, Valley View, St. Ignatius, Ronan and home schools were there to test their nerves and their intellect. I applaud each and everyone for their efforts. And I applaud the parents, teachers and supporters who came to encourage them.

But where, do you ask, were the Polson students? That's what I would like to know. What word should I use to describe my feelings for Polson's decision not to participate in this challenging, worthwhile endeavor? Might it be regretful, disappointed, disheartened, or stupefied? Or might it be a word you wouldn't find on any spelling list?

Kathy Senkler

Charlo

Abortion a choice we 'can't afford to take away'

Editor:

Proposed Constitution Initiative 100 (CI-100) is an obvious and blatant attempt to criminalize abortion within the state of Montana, thereby flooding the state with thousands of unwanted children. Abortion opponents operate under the false assumption that any child born to a full term pregnancy is a loved, healthy, wanted child, and if abortion would somehow cease to exist all resulting children would be welcomed into their mothers' arms. This is just not the case.

Montana is fortunate in that our abortion rate is below the national average with approximately 2,200 voluntarily terminated pregnancies annually. The number one reason for a woman electing an abortion has long been economic hardship. If a woman's option to terminate a pregnancy is removed (and most likely criminalized) how does that relieve economic hardship? How is a woman's perception of an unwanted pregnancy, brought to term by Montana law, affect the life of that child? And what if approximately 2,200 new children are added to the adoption roles of Montana each year? Year after year after year after year.

CI-100 has been referred to as the Montana Parenthood Amendment. It may prove to be just that by holding Montana (Montana taxpayers) responsible for the cost of delivery, shelter, food, clothing, health care, and education of thousands of previously unwanted children. With current estimates for the expense of raising a child to the age of 18 at $200,000, CI-100 has the potential of expanding the Montana state budget by $400,000,000 annually, in less than two decades. That is a possible economic hardship that will be felt by all of Montana. There will also be added expenses of the bureaucracy to tend to these children, investigation of potential caregivers, investigation of possible adoptive parents, investigation of child abandonment and criminal prosecution, and incarceration. Abortion may well be an unfortunate choice. But is a choice we, literally, cannot afford to take away from the citizens of Montana.

Ben Griffings

Polson

Concerned about St. Ignatius budget

Editor:

I am writing today to express my deep concerns over the state of the budget of the St. Ignatius school district and the possible proposed cuts that are to come. A committee has been given the impossible assignment of making the recommendations for those cuts and I don't envy that task. However, I do want to make a heartfelt plea to keep the music program intact as it is. In the eight years that my children and I have been involved in this school system, we have seen the music program grow and improve to where it is now and it would be a devastating blow to have it dismantled and reconfigured at this point.

I probably don't have to tell anybody that studies have shown time and again the benefits of music in our schools' curriculums. These studies have proven a direct correlation between the study of music and a student's performance in math, science and reading as well as in their study skills and self-confidence. I've heard speeches by our state and country leaders, calling for math and science scholars to aid in the global and economic plights that our world is facing right now. I know it sounds cliche, but it is our children that are our future. We have one chance to prepare our children for higher education and to be productive members of society and I take that responsibility very seriously. In my opinion, and I am certainly not alone in it, taking away this very important aspect of our school's core curriculum should never be considered.

You're probably thinking that my motives are selfish because of the involvement of my own children in music, and on one level you'd be right. My family has always had the study of music in our lives, and we have all grown into productive, responsible adults who still enjoy the benefits that music has awarded us. But more importantly, my motivation comes from the fact that I love this community and our school and I believe that my kids are receiving a top knotch education from some very talented and dedicated teachers. I am afraid, however, that we may be headed down a path towards mediocrity, and for that I am very concerned and will not accept for my children, nor should you.

What I see for the future of our school and our community if we keep on this trend of cutting programs is not hopeful. If we lose all the programs that make for a well-rounded curriculum, families that can will begin to look elsewhere for their childrens educations and then enrollment will drop, the budget will be cut even further, and the cycle will continue until St. Ignatius is left in a very sad state.

So what can we do about it? Well, for one, the school district has offered a retirement incentive program to eligible teachers (and there are several), two of which have taken them up on it. If a couple more would follow suit, this would provide the opportunity for more of our new teachers to stay and build their careers instead of being riffed. It would also help to save the programs, like music, that are on the chopping block. The schools administrators are not allowed to single out teachers to encourage them to take the offer and fellow teachers simply won't. So I am here begging all of those eligible teachers to take a long hard look at where they are in their lives, and at the incentive package, and at what it would mean to the school and our children. Please dont interpret my plea as a message that your work is not very much appreciated, because it truly is. We are simply in a crisis time and this solution is the one that causes the least amount of distress for the highest number of people, especially the children. Because after all, without them, the rest of what were talking about doesnt really matter.