""We had a crossing guard who worked for us for years, but he was elderly and we were getting a lot of complaints about his ability to cross kids safely," Zarea said."

I'm really disturbed by this reporting and Ms. Zarea's remarks. Portola Valley and its school district thrive on volunteerism. The elderly gentleman "... who worked for us for years" was one of those volunteers - if he received anything for his efforts it was nominal. He was and is a selfless man with no current ties to the District - he started this duty when his grandchildren, now in their 20s were students at Corte Madera. He shares the humble belief that public service for the benefit of the community and its children was a good thing. I'm sad that his legacy and years of service are so easily dismissed as generating "... a lot of complaints.

Could it be that a deterrent to selfless public service is this attitude of entitlement that dismisses his efforts as worthless or even dangerous? I'm going to be reflecting on this attitude when PVSD asks me in the near future to approve another bond measure. This elderly gentleman is an asset to our community. In my opinion Ms. Zarea still has a long way to go to earn my respect. Why bother disrespecting him and his years of service while announcing a new plan to hire crossing guards. The meanness embedded in these remarks is uncalled for.