Another school year, more excuses
At the risk of having you turn the page, we address a Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) issue again this week.
We know, unfortunately, that school issues aren’t the sexiest of affairs and that the mere mention of them bores most of you to near death. But bear with us, please, as we provide DMPS Superintendent Nancy Sebring a forum on the next page to respond to our Aug. 12 editorial that asked why the district would plan to spend a half million dollars on tech support with companies like Microsoft rather than use Linux options that are available for free, all while teaching positions are at risk. Amidst the splitting of hairs in her 758-word response that referred to us as “smug,” “shoddy,” “arrogant,” “condescending,” “misinformed,” and “insulting,” the sweet-talking Sebring failed to answer the one question we asked: Why Microsoft?
All pissing matches aside, we are pleased that our editorial accomplished at least one thing: Sebring will now actually respond to our calls and e-mails, at least until she reads this editorial.
Meanwhile, we continue to stand by those who teach children and will feverishly voice opposition to funds being frivolously spent in administration and elsewhere while teaching positions are cut, even by what Sebring refers to as “a mere 1 percent.” We have advocated for decades that teaching should consume a higher percentage of the overall budget. We are grateful for what has been done recently to not further reduce teaching’s share, but we still live for the day when the percentages start to go the other way. Unlike Sebring, we will be here for the long haul, dealing with the aftermath of today’s educational decisions that will impact generations to come.
A final thought: If students’ test scores administered at Central Campus don’t count toward the district’s scores, as Sebring states, then why not administer the tests at the students’ home schools? We’d think that having better test scores would be more important than making excuses for failing.
See you in reality. CV
