Letters to the editor - Wednesday (3-2-11)

Fibrant is making

difference at school

We have been waiting for it, and now we have it — Fibrant is installed and working well for Salisbury Academy.

Previously, when the computers in our lab were being used, the entire system was bogged down. We had to limit the use of video and Skype to class periods where the lab computers were not being used. With some programs, we were not able to have a full class on the computers at the same time.

Now, lessons are a breeze and teachers are able to make better use of their class time with no delays. It’s wonderful!

Next up, we will be able to establish full connectivity between the main building and the kindergarten building. This will enable our phones, paging system, and file sharing to work together for the first time ever, and we are very excited about that!

Technology can be a wonderful tool, and we are very committed to using it to enhance what we do so well already. With funds raised last year at the WinterBloom event, we were able to make some updates to existing hardware and purchase new pieces which have been used extensively this year. We have established an ongoing phased Technology Plan put together by our technology committee after extensive research, visiting other schools, attending state-wide conferences, and having professionals in the technology field visit Salisbury Academy.

Having a working plan in place is good, accomplishing the plan is great. Fibrant is making a differnece at Salisbury Academy!

— Diane Fisher

Salisbury

Editor’s note: Fisher is Salisbury Academy”s head of school.

Cut budget carefully

The N.C. General Assembly has a major opportunity to reduce state spending for the 2011 and 2012 budget years during the 2011 session. How they go about the reduction is currently in question. Many want an across-the-board cut where everything is cut by a given percentage. The unintended results of across-the-board cuts can and will be catastrophic to the state and its citizens for years to come.

The budget must be cut item by item rather than by an uncontrolled across-the-board cutting process. The approach required is that of surgeon who uses a scalpel to remove numerous cancerous tumors, leaving the body intact to recover and thrive again, rather than chop at the body as one would with a hatchet, hoping to chop enough to correct what ails the body. The budget needs to be cut item by item to correct the years of rapid growth in those special project areas, rather than hacked at with the hope of chopping enough off to correct the problem.

The members of the General Assembly must identify those items that do not contribute to the protection of the state’s citizens from harm, the protection of their rights, or the state’s operation as dictated by the state’s constitution.

These non-contributor items must be cut from the budget before the items that contribute to the protection of citizens from harm, the protection of their rights or operation of the state in accordance with the state’s constitution can be reduced.

Madam Governor has not used a scissor to clip the low hanging fruit in her current budget proposal. The budget that she has presented will leave the state unprepared for the future. It is time the General Assembly took the scalpel to the budget and cut all the fat from the budget.

— Ray Shamlin

Nash County