I thought I had given up writing letters to the editor, too much
ego trip, say my daughters. But recent articles about school
consolidation in your paper lead me to make an exception.
Dear Editor,
I thought I had given up writing letters to the editor, too much ego trip, say my daughters. But recent articles about school consolidation in your paper lead me to make an exception.
As the great Spanish philosopher, Santayana, said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We went through something like this about 20 years ago when I served briefly on the County Committee for School District Consolidation. We proposed that the entire county could function as a single school district.
Some good arguments were put forward beginning with:
The entire state of Hawaii functions as a single school district.
The Carmel Unified School District (where I taught for seven years) covers as much territory as San Benito County does. They cover the coast all the way south past Big Sur, and east to Cachagua.
Some districts in San Bernardino County (the largest county in the USA), and in Coconino County in Arizona (second largest in the USA, where I lived for four years) cover a greater territory than San Benito County does.
Immense amounts of money could be saved in administrative and support services by consolidation.
These and other arguments, which were put forward, met a ground swell of opposition that was vigorous and vocal. I doubt very much whether that has changed in the intervening years.
I say to the administrators and trustees who are now considering this move, “rots ‘o ruck”. I am not very optimistic about your success. And don’t spend buckets of money hiring an out-of-town “consultant” to tell you what can be found by a little local inquiring.
I’m sure those very capable ladies over there in Tim Foley’s office could find the minutes of those previous investigative meetings, if you plied them with some Sees Candies or Milano cookies! And there are at least three previous County Superintendents of Schools who are still alive and can remember these meetings also, beginning with Bill Cagney.
J.W. “Jody” Larson, Hollister
