Only Clear Minds Can Solve Problem

For four years, frustration and hostility have mounted between a group of North Spokane parents and the principal at Madison Elementary School. Last week, though, the ugliness reached a new level.

Spokane School Board President Terrie Beaudreau seemed to suggest the parents’ motivation in ousting Principal Shari Kirihara was racist; the parents latched on to Beaudreau’s public gaffe and demanded her resignation.

Clearly, it’s time to step back and re-assess this situation.

No one denies there’s a problem at Madison Elementary. At least 35 parents and eight former Madison teachers have complaints about Kirihara, covering everything from her demeanor to her treatment of students. They want her out.

The district has investigated the complaints and stands by Kirihara, as do most of her staff and the vast majority of the parents of the school’s 410 students. Administrators are currently investigating a 200-page complaint issued by the group.

Those are the issues, and the only ones that should be weighed.

But Beaudreau’s thoughtless remark and the subsequent reaction by the parent group threaten to send this manageable problem spinning out of control.

So it’s time for a time-out. Everyone go to their chairs and think calmly for a while. Throw out the name-calling, the hyperbole, the hysterics, and get to the root of what’s important here: children.

Hard feelings and stubbornness stand in the way of a reasonable solution, but a solution is within reach if cooler heads prevail.

District administrators have offered the help of an outside mediator - but only two of the 15 parents deeply involved have agreed to participate. The parents refusing to participate are concerned because the mediator worked for the district before and may not be objective.

Administrators should consider getting a different mediator, one who has no connection to the district.

But the parents must make a good-faith effort to solve the problem - that means sitting down with a mediator and considering compromise, rather than demanding Kirihara’s firing and Beaudreau’s resignation.

And it must be done now, before school starts on Sept. 3. The students of Madison deserve a fresh start. Four years is long enough to spend on this turmoil when the money and attention could be better spent on educating, not bickering.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Anne Windishar/For the editorial board