Regarding the June 21 Herald article, "Snohomish boy beaten, allegedly over poor grades"; The silence has been deafening. It's hard to imagine why no one in Snohomish has commented on the beating of the 14-year-old boy. It's a sad day when a community will not step up and voice support for a beaten kid. As a parent, I'm aware of the true meaning of report card grades. So many kids that age don't play the game. It doesn't mean they're bad, nor does it mean they're not smart ... they just don't play the game. No one bothers to reach them behind the secret doors of public school and parents are made the enemy. Is the funding used up by non-English speaking students? Or foreign special needs students? When I asked at school what I can do for my own less than stellar student, it was made clear that unless the student totally fails, there are no options. There are re-entry programs and summer school. But no help until it's too difficult to climb out of the very bottom of the hole. And you must pay more to the same folks who failed your kid first time around. Fabulous.

We have just been suckered into passing another construction bond worth several hundred million dollars. I say suckered because it was the architects and construction firms that financed the vote "yes" campaign. Look up funding and costs on the PDC Web site, who gave, who received. Citizens for Snohomish Schools apparently just want pretty buildings and don't care about the kids inside. How can we be forced to pay for this mess? With all due respect to this child's privacy, we cannot let this happen again. Our kids deserve better than they're getting, from everyone.
Sue Howell-Snohomish

Editor's Comment: Speaking with some parents of children recieving less then average grades, they DO NOT have summer school as an option uless they are failing. Getting additional help to bring their skills up for the sake of doing better or to raise your grade is not available in summer school, not at any price.