Schools should turn off TV

Why are school funds used to support public television’s KSPS while the school board of Spokane Public Schools (SPS) struggles with funding basic education? I want KSPS to flourish and the school board to concentrate its efforts and our money on educating students instead of supervising a television station.

Of 350 public television licenses, only six are held by school districts, and SPS is one of these.

Funding for KSPS (over $3.5 million annually) originates from hundreds of donors, half from Canada. Additional funding comes via the federal government and SPS, the latter contributing about $100,000 on average the past five years, plus by its own estimate $500,000 annually in indirect costs – significant amounts balanced against larger classes, library closures and elimination of after-school activities.

Although the KSPS Friends of Seven board has public television as its focus, the SPS board has additional time-consuming responsibilities.

SPS should focus on its mission and begin a transition to divest itself of KSPS. SPS should give its license to a new nonprofit entity, perhaps a consortium of colleges and universities in Eastern Washington and Canada, sell the building and equipment for a nominal fee, and free KSPS from an upside-down governance model.

Eric S. Johnson

Past president, Board of Friends of Seven KSPS

Spokane