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Editorial
Save our busing: In Madison, throughout state
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Related articles this week:
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It's not just in Madison, folks. It's spreading throughout the state. There are attempts to cut back on busing for Catholic school students with proposals in the state legislature.
Madison board cuts busing. But let's start in Madison. The Madison public school district has voted to cut busing for all Catholic school students starting next fall. This is happening even though Catholic school parents owning a home pay thousands of dollars a year in property taxes. An average of $2,500 per family goes to the Madison public schools. About the only thing Catholic parents get for that money is the opportunity to have their kids ride a school bus.
Not any longer. Parents would receive a voucher to drive their children to school. But for many families, that is difficult with both parents working. It is also not as safe for their
children.
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Contact the Board of Education
General e-mail for the Board of Education is: comments@madison.k12.wi.us Following are Board of Education members, phone, and e-mails:
Carol Carstensen, 608-255-5931, ccarstensen@madison.k12.wi.us
Maya Cole, 608-259-0549, mcole@madison.k12.wi.us
Lawrie Kobza, 608-249-7519, lkobza@madison.k12.wi.us
Lucy Mathiak, 608-255-0930, lmathiak@madison.k12.wi.us
Beth Moss, 608-833-3166, mmoss@madison.k12.wi.us
Arlene Silveira, 608-270-0435, asilveira@madison.k12.wi.us
Johnny Winston Jr., 608-441-0224, jwinston@madison.k12.wi.us
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Take action. What can we do? Concerned parents - and all citizens - should be writing, e-mailing, and calling Madison School Board members (see box at right with contact information).
They should attend the next School Board meeting on Monday, June 4, at 7:15 p.m. in The Doyle Administration Building, 545 W. Dayton St., Madison. How about showing up with lots of people carrying signs? Let's have hundreds of people of all ages at this meeting. We need to save our busing and save our schools!
State efforts to cut busing. On the state level, there are also efforts to limit school busing for private school students (see box below -- online here). The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) is opposed to these measures. Said John Huebscher, WCC executive director, "Many people don't realize that transportation for nonpublic students has been a decided issue in Wisconsin for over 40 years. It's a legal right."
Let's get busy and fight to reinstate busing in Madison and stop state efforts to cut back on busing.
Mary C. Uhler
Mailbag
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Mailbag policy
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Send letters to:
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The Catholic Herald
702 S. High Point Rd.
Madison, WI 53719-3522
Fax: 608-821-3071
E-mail: info@madisoncatholicherald.org
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Thank-you for Catholic
Daughters coverage
To the editor:
We would like to thank you for the excellent article and photos of the Catholic Daughters convention in the May 10 issue.
It's great to have our organization receive the publicity and hopefully it will result in getting some new members! Women from all the Madison parishes are welcome.
Thanks again.
Barbara Haugherty and Mona Fuszard, Madison
Need to edit more closely
To the editor:
In response to Stan Beranek's article in the Catholic Herald dated May 5, 2007 [May 3, 2007], and his chauvinistic and unenlightened way of thinking, I would like to remind him that it takes two. Do you suppose that maybe men should keep their zipper closed? He was probably right in the fact that women have more self-control than men, and not just in this regard.
And what in the world were you, as an editor, thinking when you allowed such trash to appear in the Catholic Herald? Everyone I know that read this article is as disgusted as I am.
Please edit more carefully in the future.
Bonnie Higgins, Madison
Heart-touching story on often forgotten birthmothers
To the editor:
Thank you for printing the story on Patricia Dischler and her book, Because I Loved You! As a birthmother, it touched my heart to see this subject brought into the pages of the Catholic Herald. Birthmothers are sometimes forgotten in the adoption story. I have been very blessed to have been reunited with my birthson. Even though it was a closed adoption and nearly 30 years ago, he was able to search for me through the post-adoptive mediation service at the agency through which he was adopted.
It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do, but trusted in God to protect him and send him loving parents; He not only answered that prayer, but blessed us more than I dared to hope. I believe my return to the Catholic Church and devotion to the rosary helped to bring about this miracle. Thank you Blessed Mother for prayers answered and dreams realized!
The Saturday before Mother's Day is Birthmother's Day. Please continue to pray for all who are contemplating adoption for their child and for abortion-minded women to choose life.
MW, Beloit
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