Confusion and concern

I’m confused and concerned about the proposal to: a) close Boulder Street b) build a new football stadium at Palmer HS and c) demolish historic homes.

Having lived here for over 50 years, I thought Gerry Barry Stadium (Wasson) was the location for regional football games. Palmer has a regulation practice football field.

Until recently, Boulder Street was the city’s preferred one way downtown arterial … closing Boulder seems confusing and poorly explained.

Thirdly, it appears that the Palmer expansion would result in the demolition of several historic homes ….. have the lessons of Helen Hunt Jackson’s home and the Chief Theatre already been forgotten? With schools closing faster than strip malls, why is D-11 determined to expand the Palmer footprint? If there’s a bond issue — most of us are “NO” votes.

John A. Cunningham

Colorado Springs

Possible changes at AFA

A couple of months ago, our Republican Rep. Jeff Crank was appointed to the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors by Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The Board of Visitors oversees the direction of the academy in areas such as curriculum, instruction and academic methods. When Crank was appointed, he said that he wanted to fight the woke ideology that was creeping into the military. Crank never served in the military.

The Gazette recently reported that the academy soon will fire a large number of its highly credentialed civilian instructors and replacing them with less-credentialed military instructors. The academy is concerned that because of the firings, many of the very intelligent young people who were planning to get their education at the academy might choose to go elsewhere.

When I called Crank’s office to ask if the firings were related to his efforts to reduce woke ideology and if he thought the firings were a good idea, I was told that Crank had no comment.

President Donald Trump is destroying the quality of the nationally recognized education that cadets receive at the academy and our congressman, who should be doing something about it, has gone mute. Crank’s silence is appalling.

Steve Waldmann

Monument

School District 11 is improving

In the Gazette letter “Not understanding new positions” (April 23), the author asserts that Colorado Springs School District 11 is bloating its central administration while cutting teachers. Both claims are false and in fact the precise opposite is true.

D-11 announced three new administrative job postings as a consequence of restructuring and making $3 million in cuts to central administration. These come after nearly $5 million in central admin cuts last year.

The district cut no teaching positions (nor did it last year) and while most districts in the state are limiting raises this year because of a state funding shortfall, D-11’s financial responsibility allowed them to deliver substantial 10% raises for teachers and Education Support Professionals, which they announced at their April 23 work session.

The basis of the author’s criticism is that D-11 enrollment is falling. This, too, is false. When accounting for previously unreported preschool students, D-11 enrollment improved this year for the second consecutive year.

D-11 has been mismanaged and overly bureaucratic for over 50 years. This administration is the leanest and most teacher-friendly in just as long. Now, as a result, academics are improving, teacher pay is improving and D-11 is becoming a portfolio district that rivals D-20 and D-49 in its quality.

Joel Sorensen

Colorado Springs

It is time for a reset

July 1863: It has not been a victorious year for the Northern States. The Civil War is in its third bloody year, and while the South has not scored decisive wins at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, they have inflicted grievous casualties upon the Union Army. The Southern forces are also receiving substantial military support from England.

Now, the emperor of France has stepped in with an offer to negotiate a peace treaty. The key Southern demands, which the French and English support, are for the United States to cede the states of Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland to the Confederacy, along with the Indian Territories (Oklahoma).

Of course, this is only a nightmare scenario from an alternate history. But this has similarities to the situation now faced by Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia and stabbed in the back by its longtime ally, the United States. Most recently, President Donald Trump — while claiming to pursue peace for both sides — insists that Ukraine show it seriously wants peace by surrendering claim to its territory now occupied by Russian forces.

The Crimea and Donbas regions were stolen by Russia in 2014, but are still recognized as Ukrainian under Ukrainian and international law. The Ukrainian states at least partially occupied by Russian forces include Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The ownership of these four states is on the chopping block, too. As Trump says, “There’s gonna have to be some territorial swaps.”

It is time for Congress to step up and reset America’s Ukraine policy. America First does not mean America Only, and it does not mean supporting only near-term gains for America.

Randall Grant

Widefield

Was life really that bad?

Prior to Donald Trump entering office this year, our country was recovering nicely from the global pandemic, witnessing a revitalizing of our economy with the markets soaring, we were addressing infrastructure issues to ensure longevity and we were restoring alliances on the global stage.

The administration was also trying to unify the divisive split that existed in our country. Yes, inflation was impacting our pocketbooks, but it was coming under control late in Joe Biden’s presidency. Immigration needed to be addressed, but how many of you were losing jobs to immigrants here illegally? Was life so bad that we needed to turn the country and the rest of the world upside down?

Since Trump has returned to office, we have a measles pandemic rising, the markets have tanked, our relationships with our foreign allies are becoming more and more fragile and grocery and gas prices have soared to unbelievable levels hurting our pocketbooks more. Key medical research has been put at risk with attacks on university funding. We now treat anyone who questions Trump’s agenda (LGBTQ individuals, people of color, judges, media, educators) with lies, threats or laws to eliminate them as having rights. Is this really the democracy that our citizens want?

Steve Rauch

Colorado Springs