Not understanding new positions

As is well known, enrollment in District 11 has been falling for the past several years. The forecast is for this trend to continue. Consequently, each year some teachers throughout the district lose jobs. Although sad and unfortunate, I do understand why these cuts occur: fewer students, less money, less staff.

However, given this yearly occurrence I don’t understand why D-11, in early April, approved three newly created upper administrative positions: 1) Chief of Curriculum: What We Teach, 2) Chief of Instruction: How We Teach, and 3) Chief of Student Experience and Success: Whom We Teach It To. When advertised on the Feb. 27 Chalkbeat Jobs Board, these salaries ranged between $140,000-170,000/year.

I also don’t understand other “new” positions (summer, 2024): 1) Director of the Academic Master Plan Pathways and Personalized Learning, and 2) Chief of Strategy and Implementation. I don’t even understand the titles. Might there be other “new” upper administration positions in our district of declining enrollment? I don’t understand why the same logic isn’t followed: fewer students, less money, less administration.

I don’t understand why these funds aren’t kept closer to the classrooms. If we are cutting teachers to save money, I don’t understand how we can afford to fund new expensive positions. Let’s not forget the repayment of the $120 million COP that is funding the partial rebuild of Palmer High School, the millions needed to repair Jenkins Middle School, and the millions allocated to renovate space in a UCCS building, enabling D-11 to open (several new hires) and continually maintain a new school in August: The School of Technology. Do other schools have building needs?

There is so much I do not understand about decisions made by the D-11 Board of Education. What am I missing?

Lorna Lohmann

Colorado Springs

Ongoing noise pollution

“If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?” is a question famously posed by the philosopher, John Locke. Colorado Springs residents, who are severely impacted by noise from the Ford Amphitheater, might reframe this question to ask, “If residents are prohibited, by the mayor’s hardship permits, from registering noise pollution complaints and similarly stifled by City Council rules, does noise pollution still occur? The answer is a resounding yes, despite the dismissiveness of elected officials.

In the interest of fairness, perhaps our elected officials are merely wrestling with this philosophical conundrum rather than attempting to stifle public comment. Perhaps as I write this letter, these taxpayers funded elected officials are ensconced in their noise free offices pondering the existence of noise pollution from the Ford Amphitheater and asking themselves, “If I don’t listen to residents (and don’t hear them) does noise pollution from the Ford Amphitheater still exist? I believe that we know that the answer is again a resounding yes!

Respecting and protecting the rights of all residents is not a tough philosophical dilemma. This is an opportunity to step up, show some leadership and do the right thing.

Shirley Dale

Colorado Springs

Climate change is relentless

John Stossel’s recent column criticizes overdone climate change statements. However, he doesn’t mention leaders who deny climate change. To avoid these extremes, one can turn to reports by worldwide groups of scientists such as the IPCC. Depending on how much we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the IPCC estimates global warming of 2.5 to 7.9 degrees Fahrenheit within the lives of today’s children.

Arctic temperatures increase even faster with extensive sea ice loss expected some summers in midcentury. The Polar Bear Specialist Group of IUCN identifies 20 subpopulations. They report population decreases in three regions, increases in two, stability in five, with deficient data in the remaining 11. Polar bears depend on sea ice for hunting seals so population loss is expected with decreasing ice. Incidentally, the jump up from the 1960s bear numbers is attributed to hunting bans in the early 1970s.

Just like bears, people need food. And like with bears, the impact of climate change will vary by location. In many dry regions such as Colorado, higher temperatures and reduced precipitation will impact production. Water always is a concern in the southwest. The Colorado River doesn’t reach the ocean anymore, the water is used. The Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted. This story is repeated around the world as surface water and aquifers are stressed and will be increasingly stressed by climate change. Yes, some areas of the world will receive more moisture. But if your Colorado farm well runs dry you are in dire straits, even if farms in Ohio get more rain. The same holds for countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East that are being impacted by drying climate. Many of these countries are too poor to import sufficient food, and migration will be restricted. Climate change is slow but relentless.

Robert Jones

Colorado Springs

Speak out and act

Wake up, America! Can you not see what is happening in our country? This administration is following the playbook used throughout history by tyrants and dictators to create an autocracy.

• Scrubbing textbook language to eliminate words that don’t conform to their ideology

• Attempting to silence free speech and intimidate those who are critical

• Withholding long-standing federal funding for institutions of higher education to discourage critical thinking and the honest, objective study of history

• Vindictively “punishing” agencies and government leaders whose only offense was that they served faithfully to provide essential services to citizens

• Rounding up, arresting and deporting immigrants without due process

• Forcing through an extreme agenda with disregard to half of the population

Judging by the growing numbers protesting and the resonance of their voices, the people are resisting this coup. It is time for Americans who respect the rule of law, our constitutional protections and our system of checks and balances to speak out and act — before it is too late!

Dave Seyfert

Colorado Springs