Why is the Orcas Island School district facing a $667,000 projected deficit for the coming school year?
We can blame administration, teachers, the board, special programs, the legislature, rising fuel prices, the kids, the custodians, but the bottom line is, blame doesn’t change anything. Heroism, in its quieter forms of consideration, which include listening, study, hard work, communication and sacrifice, does:
• the heroism of volunteers to serve on the Budget Advisory Committee, which has now been directed to assist the principals, supervisors, superintendent and business manager in balancing the 2008-2009 budget
• the heroism of volunteers to serve on the ALE advisory committee to formulate policy that is acceptable to parents, staff, administration and government regulators
• the heroism of Charlie Glasser to work with all parties and find a middle ground when possible and to stand up definitively for what he sees as progressive actions, such as considering austerity measures or forming a board-directed ALE advisory committee
• the heroism of Scott Lancaster to research and find an existing workable solution to the problem of policy for the ALE instead of just complaining that OISD doesn’t have one, and to clearly express what are often minority views in board discussions, and to jump into heated discussions and redirect them in a more positive manner
•the heroism of Janet Brownell to offer unpopular suggestions, such removing the coaches’ stipends and making them volunteer positions
• the heroism of Tony Ghazel to propose a nine percent across-the-board cut to all school district departments
• the heroism of Keith Whitaker to propose a wide range of austerity measures and to continue to ask for clear data.
After attending special board meetings this spring, the Sounder would also like to put forth some suggestions:
• It was pointed out at the ALE workshop last month that successful alternative programs benefit from volunteer instructors who must be supervised by “highly-qualified” staff in order to receive state funding. Many of OISD teachers are near the point of being highly-qualified. Their additional effort and that of administration to credential them as highly-qualified would be a step towards the success of the ALE program. The Special Education program would also benefit from such use of volunteers.
• As identified by Tony Ghazel, the consideration by all seven departments to make greater use of volunteers, as does the library and the fire district, would entail some extra work to initially familiarize volunteers with the workings of each department, but could offset budget cuts in each department.
Members of the community who don’t have money to contribute may well be able to answer phones, serve lunches, mow lawns and show students how to pick up after themselves.
As the board and the community discuss the best education for our children, we’d suggest (taking the lead from a suggestion by Andrea and Hugh Hendrick – see www.islandssounder.com) that the school’s civics teachers give credit to students who attend and report on school board meetings. There they could learn from the pros about teamwork, research, compromise and heroism.
