Send e-mail to letters@gainesvilletimes.com (no attached files, please, which can contain viruses); fax to 770-532-0457; or mail to The Times, P.O. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503. Include full name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. They should be limited to one topic on issues of public interest and may be edited for content and length (limit of 500 words). Letters originating from other sources or those involving personal, business or legal disputes, poetry, expressions of faith or memorial tributes may be rejected. You may be limited to one letter per month, two on a single topic. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Times editorial board.
Readers are invited to submit letters pertaining to key issues and general observations concerning the election campaigns. However, we will not publish letters or submissions that directly endorse or criticize candidates for state or local offices.
To find a form to send a letter, click here
For 20 years, I drove a school bus for Hall County. It is one of the hardest, lowest-paying, thankless jobs in any school system. Don't get me wrong, I loved most of my children and I enjoyed the challenge, but when you compare the time it required to the money made, most people would say "no thanks."
I read with interest Will Schofield's comments on pay cuts and furloughs. It is much easier to take a pay cut when your income is as high as his is. It is most difficult for me to believe the board, and Mr. Schofield's concern about our children's education when cuts that affect class time and quality of teachers is the way to save money.
Nonclass activities should be the first cuts. The cuts should be deep enough to save the required funds. Cutting time for training for teachers or classroom time for students is unacceptable.
I know the argument will be some students would lose interest in school if sports were cut, or band activities were curtailed, but let's not forget the job at hand. Teaching our youth to be a part of the work force and support themselves is more important. Our education system is already so far below other countries and we continue to cripple education by the "flattening of bureaucracy," as Schofield calls it.
This economy will force money-saving tactics but quality education is the most important item we can give our children. The cuts and furloughs are not an acceptable way to provide the level of education our children deserve.
Vicky Chambers
Lula