Frustrated Sausalito Taxpayer - Friday Reader Forum - Marin IJ - July 21, 2006 By Reader Linda Martello, Sausalito

Friday Readers' Forum
July 21, 2006

Staff Report
Marin Independent Journal

Frustrated Sausalito taxpayer

Am I the only angry parent in Sausalito? Is anyone listening to the frustrated Sausalito residents who can't send their children to a school in their own neighborhood due to its disgraceful performance?

This is despite the fact that the school receives three times the state average in per-pupil funding, which, of course, comes out of our pockets. And now the Sausalito Marin City School District is going to spend more than $12 million on a middle school in Marin City for 60 students. That's right - 60 students.

The district Board of Trustees' reckless spending, including exorbitantly high administrative costs, coupled with paying ineffective and worn-out teachers the highest salaries in the state, should have all of us storming the district doors.

In the meantime, why are the trustees neglecting the only glimmer of hope we have for our children - Willow Creek Academy?

Willow Creek is surviving despite the board's attempts to choke off its funding. It seems to me that the trustees are deliberately trying to set Willow Creek up to fail despite the wishes of many Sausalito residents to have an alternative to Bayside.

The board seems committed to continuing the decades-long legacy of failure in providing a public school for all Sausalito residents.

Linda Martello, Sausalito