To the Editor:

Our chief school administrator says that the dismal situation in our schools began before she arrived. Yet, the schools were accredited then and now they are under the most dire warnings. If the situation began more than four years ago, what has been done to arrest the decline?

Can it be that there are no schools in this country with similar challenges that have not found ways to improve? Is the administration saying there are no solutions? If, as has been said, the schools of a community are a reflection of the way the community thinks of itself, is it not time for this community to express our caring for the education of our children?

Is it not time for City Council, the peoples elected representatives, to challenge the school leadership to give the taxpayers their money’s worth?

I have been told Council only appropriates the money and has no voice in the management of the schools. If so, it is the only organization in the known world allocating money with no control of how it is used. They must publicly let us know their concern.

The school administration has said they know where we are and where we have to go to improve our schools. They do not say how we will get there — it appears no locally developed course has been set, and, therefore, we have little reason for hope. Must we look to Richmond for solutions?

This is grossly unfair to the children we must prepare for a challenging world, to the hard-working, devoted teachers who have little practical leadership, to the taxpayers who deserve better for our investment, and an embarrassment to this city. When I hear, “It takes time,” I wonder how many children we are willing to sacrifice to this seemingly endless passage of time.

Joe Stutts
Franklin