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wnat happened/ Iheir boards ot directors tossed out the leaders responsible for failure and brought in new management to turn things around.
In our county, state, indeed in most of our country, a similar situation faces our public schools. Have our “Boards of Directors’’ acted decisively to change things? If so, we haven’t noticed it!
They should. The record cries out for action, for change. Our schools’ scores are below the middle in Virginia; Virginia’s are well down in the United States; and the United States ranks last among the developed nations. In a free market with consumer choice, our “education company” would be out of business.
Does that mean that all teachers are worthless? No! In the three companies mentioned above, only a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of employees was let go.
The education of our children is our primary responsibility. If we truly love the children and recognized how necessary a quality education is in an increasingly competitive world, we’ll do what those three companies’ boards did.
What does that mean? There’s no perfect, painless, simple solution. The easy way is to do nothing, inouth platitudes and let it ride. Better to follow the example of private business:
• Change the schools’ leadership when it fails.
• Begin now to expect and require improving results. Hold leadership accountable.
• For a permanent fix, get rid of monopoly by providing for school choice.
Supervisors are the citizens’ Board of Directors. They and the School Board must do their jobs by examining results, not let appeals sway them. If results don’t improve, change the management. If we really want the best for our children aind fairness to taxpayers, there is no other choice.
JOHN L. MAROCCH1
Sperryville
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