David Ablett: Better school boards will produce better schools
Re “Pressure cooker meetings have come with budget freedom” (Page 1B, Feb. 17): Reporter Nan Austin wrote a great piece defining the problems with our local educational system. Much of the money designated or committed to education is already spoken for in the form of salaries or benefits for teachers and staff.
Where the system seems to truly go astray is in the selection of the board itself.
Look at the make up of the average school board, and you will find the majority of the members have some form of self-interest in how the available money is spent. The result is that many programs that would benefit the students and the community are sacrificed for salary and benefits.
This community needs to ensure that representation on our school boards reflect the needs of the community. What we really need are local businessmen, large and small. We need men of science, business, finance and the arts to serve along with educators so the product turned out by our schools meets the needs of our community.
We need the people of our community who are going to utilize the end product to stand up and ensure the quality of the product produced.
David Ablett, Modesto
This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "David Ablett: Better school boards will produce better schools."