Board Must Be Doing Something Right

Dear Editor,                                         

I congratulate Judy Edwards for winning re-election to the school board. I also congratulate Alex Saitta and Herb Cooper for returning to the school board after facing no opposition on election day.  This is the first time in a long long time, more than 10 years, that there have not been any changes on our school board.

The people must think the board is doing something right.  I agree.

The school board is balancing its budgets without raising taxes, borrowing money or laying off classroom teachers.  All the things it has done in the past, but is doing no more.  In fact, the board is hiring teachers and aiming to pay off debt.

The board is continuing to turn back many of the policies of the Dr. Lee D'Andrea administration.  Rather than hiring administrators from the outside and from all over the state, the board is promoting hard working employees from within to positions like the Superintendent, the new principal at Daniel High School, and the curriculum director.

The school board is finally addressing the problem it didn't want to talk about ever -- the low graduation rate.  The board has an 80% graduation rate goal and a multipoint plan to reach that goal. It is adding more 4k classes, more reading teachers and lowering class sizes in the early grades to provide more personalized instruction where it is needed the most.

Education gains are being realized with the district being near the top of the state in ACT and SAT scores.

And finally, the board is moving the building program toward its conclusion.  While some want to continue to spend more and more, many on the board realize enough been spent on new and renovated school buildings (more than $375 million), and it is time to end the program.  The taxpayers have been put into enough debt and have paid more than their fair share.

Weldon Clark - Treasurer - Pickens County Taxpayers Association

Liberty