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August 17, 2005
A Schoolhouse Divided..
This morning, the Hamilton County Commission heard from citizens regarding the County budget and the school system.
These days, I prefer not to get into the rhetorical battle of calling anti-tax-increase Commissioners names, or calling pro-education citizens "thieves," but to instead look for real solutions to this ongoing problem.
Face it, folks: the public schools here are performing remarkably well, given their funding circumstances. There are many factors that contribute to those circumstances; the six-year reprieve on an increase in property taxes is but one of those factors. I stand back and look at the charges of mismanagement and waste that are leveled at the Board and Administration, and I look at the epithets (some of which I'm sure I've hurled myself, regrettably) launched at Commissioners Adams, Skillern, Miller and Hullander (and then there's Larry Henry who's caught somewhere in the middle), and I get the sense that there are truths and falsehoods in each.
Could the school system's Administration find ways to cut costs? Sure. However, the monstrous climb of health insurance alone is a hard obstacle to avoid. Textbook publishers are another set of profiteers that hold the schools, teachers, and students hostage with their gouging.
Could the County officials budget better, so that the existing property tax rates would be sufficient to fund [what should be] our number one priority? Absolutely. But it could be that, given all of the other factors, we citizens just need to deal with the rising public costs just as we deal with the inflation of our private bills.
I guess what I'm saying is that it doesn't help for anyone to be so firmly entrenched in an ideological position that potential solutions can't be appropriately reviewed. The Register-haters and those who hate "the Five" do equal damage, and the victims of this damage are -- yes, I'll say it -- the children.
To those who spew venom at the Central Office (including School Board member Rhonda Thurman): you try staffing the Administration with people who will "run things" for much less, and see where the quality goes. That's not a sacrifice I think safe to place on the backs of students and teachers. The Board, who are elected by the citizens, hire good people for a reason. And we ought to think our children, and our neighbors' children (and that goes for all of us who do, did, or plan to educate our children in non-public schools), worth hiring the quality personnel.
To those who truly think that "more money" is the only solution: get a grip. There are smarter ways to go about living with what we have. Let's stop the tirade for a tax increase, and look for other ways first; then, if it's absolutely true that nothing else can be done, let's use reason and common sense to convince our fellow citizens that, as painful as it might feel, our future depends on well-educated youth.
I guess we'll see what happens on Monday. The most important thing is for all of us to be involved.
Education | By joe lance | 11:09 AM