Mom changed my grades, too!

To the editor:

When I first heard the alleged story about Cindy Hartig, the chairperson of the Osceola County School Board, making a teacher change her daughter’s grade, it made me chuckle — not because there is anything funny about this whole situation, but because my mom really did make a teacher change my grade when I was in high school. Not only that, she was the chairperson of the Osceola County School Board when she did it.

I was in 10th grade and I received straight A’s except for a B in chemistry. I wasn’t too surprised at first because I knew getting an A was a long shot. I went over all of my grades to see what I actually ended up with, and lo and behold, I had exactly a 94, and I should have received an A. I went to speak to my teacher about it, and he dismissed the idea that he could have made a math error. I approached him a couple of more times and he made it clear that I must have made the mistake, not him. I worked in the guidance office at the time as an aide, so I asked one of the guidance counselors to look it over. He agreed that I should have received an A. So, what did he do? Nothing. He said that sometimes you just have to live with what you get. Well, as far as I was concerned, I got an A, and I shouldn’t have to live with anything lower. If I had actually received a B, I would have been OK with it, but that was not what I had earned.

As much as my mom did not want to get involved in the situation because of her elected position, she was really left with no choice. My mom asked the teacher to meet with us, and we went over the grades one by one to obtain an average of a 94. He finally agreed to change my grade, not so much because it was the right thing to do, but because I was making a big fuss out of it. So, was it really that big of a fuss? Well, I got a full scholarship to college based on my grades, but just barely. That B could have changed everything.

I was very lucky because I had parents who always made me take responsibility for my own actions, but would never leave me out in the cold when other people’s actions could negatively affect me. So, what we really need to ask ourselves, did Cindy Hartig assist in getting her daughter’s grade changed because she is chairperson of the School Board? Or, is she chairperson of the School Board because she is the kind of person who gets involved and goes the extra mile to make sure her child and all other students in the county are treated fairly?

Stacy Anderson McCland
St.Cloud

Thank you, St. Cloud workers

To the editor:

We are proud to take note of the week of May 1-7 as Public Service Recognition Week. This week is designated by Congress to recognize all public service employees nationwide. Its goals are to connect and educate residents about the work of their government, improve the perception and morale of public employees and inspire a new generation of public servants.

Within the city of St. Cloud, we have employees who have proven time and time again that they are dedicated to their public service duties. Many of us witness first-hand these employees’ remarkable contributions and achievements to their community. Therefore, it is important to honor public employees who work so diligently on your behalf every day.

In the year 2000, we were serving 20,074 residents. Today, we proudly serve 35,183 St. Cloud residents. While we are considered a small community, the increase in the number of those we serve has been quite drastic, yet we continue to provide quality services with fewer employees.

We have worked hard to keep our dedicated employees employed although we have not been able to offer them an increase in pay during the last three fiscal years. Despite this, our employees have taken on additional responsibilities like we have never seen before. They dedicate more time and energy to take on these extra duties that are left unattended when we do not fill a vacant position; they do this to ensure that the services to our public are not compromised.

During these challenging times, we continue to work on finding innovative solutions to intricate issues that affect us all. We want to remind our employees that their hard work does not go unnoticed.

I am proud to serve with you and I hope the community will join me in thanking you. Thank you for all that you do in service to our great city of St. Cloud.

Tom Hurt
City Manager
City of St. Cloud