Once again, the Manatee County School Board is padding its own pockets with a significant raise. I find it hard to believe that individuals can vote themselves a raise. Perhaps a lesson from private industry would help; raises there are based on performance.

Performance levels are based on how you helped the company grow and prosper. This usually includes finding ways to perform projects within budget, showing up to work and respecting your employer.

This school board fails to follow the above simple rules. The company is growing, however, they continue to fail the falling within budget part. Showing up for work is a joke. How many meetings has each board member missed in the past? I can count one board member being absent more than five times within a six-month period. As for respecting their employer, another test failed. Their lack of accountability to the parents and taxpayers of Manatee County and lack of respect to those who speak against them is terrible.

Superintendent Roger Dearing indicated a school board position is a full-time position, thus justifying this hefty salary increase. Well, then, how can a certain board member maintain this full-time position, be employed by another employer full time and then fulfill his role as a parent? I wish I knew the secret.

Well, do I ever have a message for them. I and many others here in Manatee have had enough of their spending like a drunk sailor. You'd better find another way to make the money go further, like just maybe cut out your crazy spending habits. Teach people to start doing a few things for themselves. Memories of Manatee voters are getting better as you will discover if you insist on more taxes.

As a retired probation officer, I was stunned to learn that Debra Lafave was sentenced to probation. So much for gender equality. Based on my 30 years of experience in probation, if a male teacher had engaged in sex with a 14-year-old student, that male teacher would be in the bowels of a prison someplace, not seeing the light of day until, oh say, about the return of Halley's Comet.

Now comes Katherine Harris for U.S. senator from Florida. Ms. Harris, in the true tradition of Karl Rove, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, has fired the first salvo at Sen. Bill Nelson, accusing him of being too liberal.

Of course the tactic is to scream liberal to whomever will listen, and it's getting tiresome and worn. Few politicians come without baggage but still fewer come with the baggage that Ms. Harris drags.

Start packing the trunks. There was that untidy little Riscorp affair and the somewhat controversial travel as Secretary of State. Oh, and that Bush team cheerleader tryout, also known as the 2000 presidential election. How about those 10 checks for $2,000, each received Dec. 12, 2004? Weren't those somehow tied to the Brooklyn bundler, Rabbi Milton Balkany? The same Milton Balkany indicted in federal court on charges of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money intended for disabled children?

Now Ms. Harris has always been a top fundraiser but I think she would agree that it was probably a mistake to leave all those chilled bankers and the chairman of the house banking committee on that golf course so she could try on gowns for the presidential inaugural ball.

It's no secret that the GOP would rather someone else run against Sen. Nelson, which might explain her trouble raising funds this time around. Ms. Harris has said Hurricane Katrina is the cause of the low numbers. Huh? On the national Republicans not supporting her candidacy, it's because she's too independent and can't be controlled. Huh? On the issues of a plot to blow up the power grid in Carmel, Ind., and newspapers running doctored photos. Huh? No evidence, none. Making claims you can't back up is not a way to improve your image.

With so many different experts speaking out about child development and developmentally appropriate guidelines for children today, how do we know who to listen to? How does a parent know if they are doing the right thing? Recent news coverage of experts who are encouraging parents to start potty training their infants has left me questioning the benefit of this early training to the infants. According to child development research, potty training and other developmental milestones need to be approached with the right frame of mind, and there is not a one size fits all answer to such complex issues.

While early training may be prevalent in some cultures, research has shown that early training is not always best. Children must be physically and developmentally ready to tackle the task of toilet training and parents and other caregivers must be ready to commit the time and attention necessary to work with them to ensure the process is successful. If children are not reaching developmental milestones at what the parent feels is an appropriate time, parents should consult with their family doctor or their child's pediatrician to determine if there is a medical cause for the delay, or if the parent's expectations are realistic.

Parents can also call the Florida Parent HelpLine at 1-800-FLA-LOVE for more information on parenting and referrals to local resources for their families.

In response to Ms. Hoover's commentary regarding Wakeland Elementary School, she stated that Wakeland has failed to meet state standards for the past four years. If memory serves me, Wakeland has passed with a "C" or better for three out of the past four years. If what she were referring to was the national standards, I'll just say that there are other schools in Manatee County that also did not make average yearly progress.

Most disturbing of all was the comment stating that Wakeland has unqualified teachers. Although I do not have exact figures, I could bet that a good number of the teachers have a master's degree or are working toward obtaining one. And the additional funds that are designated for Title 1 schools go toward additional training in various areas of academics.

Believe me, the teachers at Wakeland are highly qualified and competent. In addition, they are caring individuals who go well beyond their job descriptions. A small example is when the families of Wakeland students are in need of food, clothing and/or furniture, the Wakeland staff is there to help.

Many of Wakeland's families are operating on survival mode. They are focusing on trying to make sure food is on the table and a roof is over their heads. Many families come from different parts of the world and struggle with speaking English, let alone reading it. Not to mention the students of Wakeland who started off life in critical conditions which may affect their ability to learn, and those who are living in foster homes or shelters.

Ms. Hoover, until you have actually set foot in a classroom at Wakeland and have seen these exceptional teachers at work, I don't believe you have any right to comment on their qualifications or abilities to teach. Any school would be lucky to have one of Wakeland's teachers working with its students.

Now that the oil companies have made billions by creating a scare and increasing the price of gas to the public in the last year, there has been a quiet response from the government, namely Congress. I guess they are all invested in oil stock?

I believe the oil companies should turn over their excessive earnings they have made in the last year to the government, this to be used for road improvement in the U. S., and commit to regulation.

I could feel the angst of Burt Yellin as I read his letter on Nov. 11, where he says that our Supreme Court has become a political entity that should not be banning abortions or regulating gay unions. His first concern about stopping abortions is the incredible financial burden these unwanted children place on our society and also that these children suffer mentally and emotionally because they are unloved and unwanted.

On his first issue, the Supreme Court: I hope and pray that it will always be there and that all of the cases which were virtually decided by fiat by liberal judges will find the way to the high court to be judged according to existing laws guided by the Constitution instead of the emotional whim of a liberal judge, i.e., the 9th District Court in California.

I plead guilty to the label of "right to life." I need only to contemplate partial birth abortion to spend a sleepless night. It is beyond horrific and ghastly and must certainly be soul-killing for those who practice it. Quite the opposite of "suffer the little children to come unto me."

This is cache, read story here