Those who cheated must give money back
Regarding “APS to return bonus money” (News, Jan. 21), I agree with state Superintendent John Barge that APS must repay the more than $363,000 it earned as a result of falsified test scores. I applaud the work that Atlanta Superintendent Erroll Davis is doing to restore APS to a credible school system.
However, I disagree with the district’s not asking former Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall for the bonuses she received that were based on academic goals not honestly achieved (as well as the bonuses paid to others). These people received bonuses because they cheated. They should have to return the money and be accountable for their actions. In some cases, loss of teaching certification and jail time are in order.
Clare Millians, Atlanta
Don’t forget: Sandusky is the alleged criminal
I missed the verdict that pronounced Joe Paterno guilty of a crime. Yet he became the focus of a vendetta that is threatening his family (and undoubtedly hastened his death). I don’t know what he knew and what he did about it. Neither do those who seek to lay immediate blame somewhere. It’s inconceivable that the Penn State board of trustees had no long-term knowledge of the abuse accusations. A sure way to learn that truth is to subpoena each member.
The trustees continue to be judge, jury and executioner — while they are not held accountable for their lack of oversight. It is imperative to remember that Jerry Sandusky is the alleged criminal in this case.
How pathetic that we can decide who “failed to do enough” — and in our rush to judgment obliterate decades of service and dedication.
Leslie Garretson, Marietta
Days are no longer like days of FDR, Kennedy
Now there are four Republican candidates left of the eight or nine who started. There was a time when most of this process was conducted at the national convention; now, it’s usually decided in the primaries. It is amazing how quickly things change.
Herman Cain was flying high. Unfortunately, he must have known the “skeletons” in his closet would doom him. In a presidential race, all the minutia of one’s life is uncovered — unlike the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy when the press left the skeletons to ”rest in peace.”
Bill Burns, Stone Mountain
