READER RESPONSE
Something missing with treasurer candidate
I had an interesting conversation with my boss this week. It seems
that there is a job opening at our company that pays about $75,000 a year
and I think that's a nice amount of money. So I told him that I would
like to have the job. After all, I am considered pretty popular by all my
friends. I've got some time on my hands since my principal job is pretty
much part-time. (Though I can't really let my boss know this.) And I have
even balanced my (modest) checkbook in a diligent way. I'm a good guy,
what more do you need, I asked.
He replied something about having at least some knowledge of investing
a lot of other people's money, being familiar with equity market
variations at a time of high PE ratios, knowing the best bond duration's
in a period of unstable interest rates and nascent inflation, and the
best asset allocations for preservation of principal and how to negotiate
terms with New York Bond dealers.
I told him it doesn't really matter that I don't know beans about
those things. There is an excellent staff in place already and they can
do all the work for me. It would be great.
Then he said, "What would we need you for, then? We could save the
$75,000.
Does anyone in Burbank have an answer for me on this one?
TOM BRUEHL
Burbank
Burbank High grad recalls the hot old times
I recently read Mr. Haynes complaint about the extreme heat conditions
in his classroom. ("Too Hot for Teacher," Sept. 20) He is absolutely
correct. There is many a day where my classmates and I sweated our hearts
out because there was no air-conditioning. Mr. Aponik, fans don't do much
to speak of. Sure they're great for the person sitting in front of it,
but when it's over 100 degrees in a room even that doesn't necessarily
help. There were also many times that we asked each other where our
parents' money was spent. Oh yes, instead of cooling off the rooms so
that we can concentrate we had our hallways repainted a lovely shade of
blue. Over the existing, ancient, paint of course, so that it began to
peel off by the second week of school.
Now I had many excellent teachers at Burbank High School. Mr. Haynes
just being one of them. And if the faculty is loudly complaining about
not being able to teach I think that it would be best for the Board of
Education to listen. I would encourage the students and their parents to
complain as well. You my good people are who supply the school board
members with their paychecks.
MATT LEMCKE
Burbank
