Letters: A 'critique of inept leadership'

PHILADELPHIA Prisons Commissioner Louis Giorla's response to Ronnie Polaneczky's May 9, 2013, column missed her point. Ms. Polaneczky's expose was not "a broad-brush condemnation of an entire staff and agency" but a targeted critique of inept leadership. The prisons would greatly benefit if, instead of avoiding matters, Giorla would address the issues that Ms. Polaneczky raised: 1) incompetent management, 2) rampant favoritism toward some, and disrespect of most, officers, 3) "investigations" of allegations against favored employees that become cover-ups, 4) biased and discriminatory discipline, 5) widespread distrust of supervision and 6) crippling morale.

Pretending that everything is normal and that all criticisms are exaggerated ensures that the PPS will continue its downward spiral. That is precisely the kind of leadership that caused the problems in the first place.

Lorenzo North

President

AFSCME Local 159

One more unemployed

Gov. Corbett is so out of touch with his constituents. He says anything that pops into his brain. Hard to imagine how he got in office. So, most Pennsylvanians are on drugs and now he can't find Latinos to work?

I'm going to work to ensure that he is a one-term governor. I advise all poor folks, Medicaid recipients, Latinos, blacks, state-store workers, etc., to get to the polls at election time and send him and his wife, along with their sports tickets, party dresses and all other handouts, packing.

B. Wright

Huntingdon Valley

Smell of suc-cess

Over the past few days, I have noticed several reports that state legislators refer to our school district as a "cesspool."

Setting aside that it is very strange that our current Legislature considers any other institution to be a cesspool, we should recall that the School Reform Commission was set up in 2002 to oversee the Philadelphia School District. This was accomplished by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its legislators. So, for 11 years, the state has been in charge of the district and for 11 years has failed to accomplish the aforementioned reform.

Seems to me that if our state legislators are describing the Philadelphia School District as a cesspool, the adage "it takes one to know one" would apply. Indeed, it may also "take one to make one."

Dave Kalkstein

Philadelphia

The Philadelphia public-school teachers have been bashed unmercifully over the past few years. They are being held accountable for every issue of society. They have had to deal with many layoffs due to the hundreds of millions of the school district's financial mismanagement and the city's uncollected delinquent taxes. They are now being asked to give back because the state has decreased its funding of the schools. Groups are using this period to publish biased and slanted opinions to affect their contract negotiations.

I have a banner that contains a skull and crossbones that reads, "The beatings will continue until morale improves." Maybe one should be created for the teachers that reads, "The bashing will continue until the test scores improve."

Mayer Krain

Philadelphia