I agree with Hether Martens that closing small schools is not always a good idea, and may actually result in little or no savings over a period of years. In addition, the school district may alienate families who lose a fine school and endure the disruption caused by the closing.
Government ans schools are not a business, and even if they were, the decisions made are first and foremost about human values. The school district must use recources wisely, but must not be run as a short term "bottom line" organization. Our schools are community anchors and community builders, as well as educational institutions for generations of children. Every effort should be made to maintain and enrich these institutions. Stable and enduring schools not only help contribute to high quality of life which in turn attracts stable families who want to contribute to a strong community, but they provide people with an important sense of continuity, neighborhood and place. Being from a real, human neighborhood, a unique place is itself very different than a sense of being from a set of geographic coordinates which is occupied by whatever random objects happen to come and go without regard to history, human memory and community is vital for long term social stability. I strongly urge our educational and community leaders to see education as a process knit into neighborhoods and communities, and well worth supporting over the very long term. Schools are institutions worthy of preservation and enrichment over the years, and are not disposable. Gary Hoover Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
