Educational or Political?

As I've said in previous blogs, these are tough times for public education and I believe that public education will never be the same. First it was the pension crisis, created by the state house and senate. And, as I predicted, they did nothing to solve the problem except to pass it on to the local school districts. Then it was the economy which cut school income drastically. Finally it was the new governor's budget proposal which put the problem of balancing the state budget directly on the backs of local school districts. Now schools are forced to begin cutting programs and staff - some as many as 50 teachers. A few teachers and many school administrators have agreed to salary cuts and freezes to help their districts. Unfortunately, most haven't. Instead many of them are fighting back by trying to stir up the public and holding protests. And some of these reactions are, in my opinion, very unprofessional. One of the worst cases that I have heard of recently happened in the Lancaster School District, a district really strapped for income. One elementary principal helped arrange a "field trip" for third, fourth and fifth graders to provide them an opportunity to model the role "of good citizenship, free expression, fairness, and thoughtful deliberation." And who could argue with such a worthy goal, even if the school was in a major budget crisis. But unfortunately, according to the Lancaster New Era, "the trip was not educational. It was political.' The trip was to view a protest rally organized by the Coalition for Labor Encouragement and Accountable Revenues. The group represents union workers and unionized teachers and health care employees as well as many others. They are opposed to the governor's proposal to balance the state budget without a tax increase and this gathering was to protest his plan. According to the newspaper, "Clearly the trip was outside the bounds of, say, the typical guided tour of the state Capitol." Fortunately many parents stepped in and stopped this sad expenditure of vital funds. One irate parent said, "They are using school buses to bus these kids to Harrisburg on a regularly scheduled school day. It's ridiculous. It feels like they are being used as human shields." Maybe they are pawns in a political game. I believe that the principal stepped over the line in authorizing this trip. Maybe this is a good reason to support the governor's plan for vouchers which would allow students in schools like this to transfer to another district and take state money with them. I have been opposed to this plan, but when I hear of such "leadership"in some schools, maybe I need to change my mind. And as far as the district's major financial deficit, maybe a good place to start is to eliminate administrators who makes such bad decisions.