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January 25, 2006
Some Reform
I was pretty excited the other day to read that my old alma mater, the Leslie Public School system, was ranked 2nd in the state by the UofA's recent School Perfomance Index study. It confirmed statistically what I already knew: I got a damn fine education at my little school. Not only did I receive a solid grounding in the basics, but more importantly I was also taught how to learn. And most importantly of all, I was encouraged to pursue higher education even though I was a girl....which was a big deal back in those days.
So you may perhaps imagine my dismay when I read this:
The Searcy County School Board unanimously voted Tuesday night to set a course for establishing only one high school in the district.
Guess which school will remain, the one ranked 2nd in the state or the one ranked 77th?
Yep. The sons o'bitches are closing my old school. Why? Well, under our Rev. Gov's school consolidation plan, my old school doesn't have enough students. Marshall, ranked 77th, does. (And I suppose it didn't hurt that all but two of the Searcy Co. School Board members attended Marshall school.)
There's also the factor of lengthy bus rides that consolidation will cause. We lived about 7 miles from my school; my bus ride was 1 1/2 hrs. on a good day. And we didn't live nearly as far back in the boonies as many kids did.
So not only are they closing a better school, they're also adding hours to students' commute time.
Wow, that's a great idea to improve these kids' education, isn't it?
Posted by Rita at January 25, 2006 07:42 AM