Don’t Cut Kids’ Opportunities

If area school officials start talking about charging students to play football or sing in the choir - as some Puget Sound area school districts are considering - several “Bagpipes” readers are ready to object.

“Rich kids already have so many privileges, including the choice to attend private school,” said Jitske Hart, Spokane. “Must we really rig the system so that they’re the only ones qualifying for athletic scholarships now, too? Eliminating the poor from extracurricular activities will further constrict their opportunities in life, and this is discriminatory as well as foolish.”

Kay Stoltz of Spokane agrees. “Does athletics and/or music help deter some children from these criminal acts? Does denying them access, thereby intensifying their feelings of being on the outside, give them less hope and reason for striving hard? Does the very fact that they are occupied for a few hours a day deter them from wrongful acts? Doesn’t the true self-confidence that mastering a skill provides mean more responsible children? I think that the answer to all of these questions is yes, and we can not deny them to ANY of our children.”

Adds Debbie Lockhert of Spokane:

“We’re just creating a situation of more resentment, more situations with no hope, less opportunities for those children to be involved in constructive activities.”

So how can school districts save money? At least two readers suggested a leaner administration.

“There’s far too much administration in most schools,” said Gerald Ray, a Spokane resident who once was superintendent of schools in Edwall.

His recollection that a superintendent and a couple of principals used to provide all the administration some districts needed was echoed by George Springer of Spokane.

“They do not need area directors who are paid around $60,000 a year when the principals in the schools can easily do what they did many years ago,” said Springer.

“I think we need to show the school districts that we mean business and say no to everything they ask from us. Then maybe they will be forced to downsize their administrations like the large corporations are. But in this case the profits from this downsizing come to us, not the superintendent or the CEO.”

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.