As a retired elementary school teacher and current board member of the Konocti Unified School District, I would like to respond to Lowell Grant”s article “Public education needs an overhaul in Lake County.”
While I do agree that we can always do better, I believe that schools in the Konocti District have made great progress in the last few years. This is due to the focus and hard work of our teachers, support staff and administrators. Test scores are up (all of our elementary schools scored over 700 in 2008), graduation rates are up, more of our students are meeting the requirements for a four year college, our CAHSEE (high school exit exam) pass rates exceed state levels, and our English language learners are becoming more proficient every year.
One of the unfortunate consequences of the current budget crisis in California has been that the study of exactly how much money does it take to adequately educate students has been side-lined. Although public education does take a big percentage of the state budget, there is no objective or fact based figure to indicate the level of funding that schools should receive to do the job they are entrusted to do.
Public schools must accept every student who walks through the door. If we are to educate every student we must accept that some students are more costly than others. Money does matter. Money pays for adequate compensation for employees, support staff like counselors, tutors and librarians, books and materials, intervention classes, and the art, music and sports programs which are vital to producing engaged students and well rounded citizens.
I take exception to Mr. Grant”s statement that “our nation”s future is in the hands of the high achievers.” I believe that the first job of schools is to create citizens, whether or not they are college bound, who will become contributing members of society. Our nation needs electricians, mechanics and carpenters just as badly as we need doctors, lawyers and engineers. To that end, this fall Lower Lake High School started offering four vocational pathways to meet students” interests and needs. Students enrolled in these pathways are not “low achievers” but are students who achieve in different ways. As board members and educators we should respect and support these differences.
While I agree with Mr. Grant that the seven different school districts in Lake County are costly and duplicate services, I am not sure that community members and parents would agree with his call to create on county-wide district. Local control of schools is a hallmark of American education.
That being said, there are ways that local districts can collaborate and consolidate to reduce costs.Currently, the Konocti District has formed a committee, headed by Dr. Bill Cornelison and including representatives from the county and city of Clearlake, to make recommendations to our board about these kinds of cost-saving ideas. All districts, county and city offices are feeling the budget crunch and we all should be taking steps to become more effective and efficient.
It is easy to make negative comparisons about how much better other countries are doing educating their students. However, we must realize the context and not compare apples to oranges. In the US, the federal government has mandated that all special education students receive a free appropriate education even though the feds supply less than 17% of the necessary funding. Local districts must back fill the unfunded costs.
In the US, every student regardless of socio-economic status, language or ability is welcomed in our schools and supported to achieve at their highest level. We do not pick and choose the most able students who will be allowed to continue their education.
In the US, disruptive students cannot be expelled or excluded wthout due process and interventions which include working with parents. Staff at Konocti schools work diligently with Healthy Start, Mental Health, probation, and other social service agencies to provide a network of support for these students and their parents. It”s not the job of schools alone.
In the US, schools are also impacted by the myriad of legislative actions and state level administration decisions which dictate curriculum, materials, hours of instruction, teacher credentialing, federal and state testing requirements and reporting. Our district office must file 255 reports each year with state and federal agencies.
In addition, districts are required to have a budget in place by June 30 regardless of whether or not the state has determined its allocations to schools. Couple this with unfunded mandates, mid-year cuts, suspension of the COLA (cost of living increase) and it”s a wonder that our schools do as well as they do given the uncertainty of state and federal support.
Although failing schools make great headlines and newspapers often report that on a national or state-wide level parents are unhappy with schools, on a local level, parents generally feel their own school is doing a good job educating their children.
However, we can always do better and the school staff in the Konocti District is dedicated to seeking out those strategies, materials and programs which will increase student achievement and produce the kinds of citizens we need for the future. While I agree with Mr. Grant that changes are needed in education, they are changes that apply to all schools and are not specific to Lake County.
Carolynn Jarrett is a resident of Clearlake. Opinions expressed in all Guest Commentaries are solely those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views or endorsement of the Lake County Record-Bee or its staff.
