2008.01.29
School board needs to act now
I can't sit by quietly as the Roanoke School Board fiddles while Rome burns.
The board's inertia in closing schools and revisiting school boundaries is stalling the system's effort to move forward.
The longer the board sits on its hands because it fears angry parents at raucous meetings, the longer scarce school dollars will continue to prop up underused buildings -- and the longer before that money will be available for programs to help students graduate.
And that, after all, should be the system's mission and priority.
At its retreat over the weekend, school officials received yet another report urging them to get off the dime. The red flag to stop squandering money on outdated or underused buildings isn't news to the board.
A year ago, board members themselves broached the subject when they learned about leaky roofs at some schools. A few months later in May, a state study recommended closing at least one elementary school. Mayor Nelson Harris joined the chorus, urging new school attendance zones.
If the school board is waiting for "the right time," there never is one. With contentious issues such as closing a building or redrawing school attendance zones, inevitably some feathers will get ruffled.
But presumably that's why board members were appointed: To take the difficult votes and do what's best for the school system at large.
The point should not be lost that taking students from smaller schools into other schools may give them exposure to specialties such as foreign languages.
Apparently, school board members largely agree that schools need to close. The disagreement is in the redrawing of boundary lines.
Members Mae Huff and Mignon Chubb-Hale worry that sending children to schools in their own neighborhoods likely would result in segregated schools.
I appreciate that sentiment. At this point, however, the issue of cosmetics is secondary. Our schools are in crisis. Only 56 percent graduate. Right now, improving that trend is more critical than adhering to an inefficient status quo.
Wherever the school is located, the overriding factor is making sure Little Johnny can read and write. The way the board ensures that is to give all schools, principals and teachers the support they need and equal access to resources.
School board members should not shy away from the issue because of the upcoming municipal election.
There's always going to be an excuse to stand down.
But the Roanoke School Board has plenty of reasons -- 12,428 of them -- to summon the courage and stand up for the children.
Shanna Flowers' column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
WHAT! Are you saying there are possibly capital needs that exist in the school system and they are going unaddressed? The school board "just learned" of such things as leaking roofs?? Just think what $8.4 million or more would have done to address those needs! And maybe we could have still reserved a few hundred thousand for suitable athletic facilities. YOU should hang your head in shame along with many others...but you have your HS stadium. And not one child is better off for it. Where are Roanoke's "World class schools"? Are you interested in any other facilities problems? Probably not. Discovering them would require "effort" and run against the grain of the Times management.
I'm not the one who should be ashamed. I don't have a problem providing students with amenities---both in the classroom and out of it---conducive with a well-rounded education. Somebody paid taxes so I could get an education; I'm willing to do the same for today's students.--s
Comment by Al — January 29, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
Just want to correct at least one of my remarks. I lost sight of the fact that my response above was to a specific individual. I suppose I am more used to seeing and commenting on opinions offered by the RT's without specifically knowing who was responsible for the "opinion". In that regard, I used the term "YOU" to mean the majority of those down at the RT's. Clearly, I do not really know that "you" (Shanna Flowers) should be ashamed. So, let me just back up and say that while the school system was being used by city council, why did not someone down there get on the band wagon and point out the needs of the schools and make a push for ALL of that 14 or so million that could have been put to good use for repairing leaks, getting rid of rats, pulling up carpet full of mold (which is still making both kids and teachers ill today), replacing some or all of the classroom trailers or any of a long list of capital needs that existed then and still exist today. And I do not think there are many folks around who would argure that "amenities" should not be provided. BUT there is still a need to set priorities and to allocate funds accordingly. Spending 4 plus million on athletic facilities which are sitting idle today while you have rat infested schools is not having priorities in order. Why didn't the school/city look at alternative plans for athletic facilities? There were others who wanted to submit them and were interested in the project(s) and I have an email from the past Chair that confirms this. What would have been wrong with maybe a $750,000 to $1,000,000 facility. And what about all the lies told to the public by school administrators, now departed? Why was none of the crack staff at the RT's looking into that? I suspect the answer is that they were under directives to keep a lid on it. So I'll come back to the part about being ashamed. If you, Shanna Flowers, failed to look into some of what most any person in Roanoke really interested in education knew about the goings on in the Roanoke City School system and you turned you back on those issues opting to write telling articles about leaving garbage cans along side the road after the trash had been picked up, they you should be ashamed.
Comment by Al — February 4, 2008 @ 8:13 pm