CONFER: Having a say in school closings

Opinion

Related Photos

Bob Confer, columnist

July 25, 2010

Bob Confer Lockport Union-Sun & Journal The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Sun Jul 25, 2010, 09:06 PM EDT

I recently wrote a column in which I discussed the need to return to a more localized approach to schooling, in which the teachers, school boards and parents were empowered to determine the curriculum for their schoolchildren and teach accordingly. Nowadays, such local control is grossly subdued as the federal and state governments dictate what and how the teachers can teach, making for a standardized and markedly dumber student body.

It was fitting that the column came out just before the New York Senate introduced a piece of legislation that would further erode the significance of the community-driven approach to education. Rather than focusing on curriculum, this new attack would aim its sights on the physical environment in which the students learn.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn, mirroring a companion bill in the Assembly that’s cosponsored by a trio of Western New York legislators (Sam Hoyt, Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Mark Schroeder) and is intended to create the Commission on Education in the 21st Century. The commission would be charged to evaluate the operational and cost structures of the entire educational system in the Empire State and recommend which schools/districts should close and consolidate — recommendations that would be put into law by the legislature and governor.

This is eerily similar to the infamous Berger Commission, which a few years back swept through the state with its findings on what hospitals and care centers needed to be closed or have their functions reassigned. As with the Berger Commission, the state government is overstepping its bounds with the education commission.

In the case of the Berger Commission, the state interfered in the marketplace and told private enterprises what they could and could not do, while with the education commission, the state will be telling communities and local taxing jurisdictions (the school districts) how to do things.

In both scenarios, New York probably may have the upper hand due to its long-running and wrong-headed influence in both functions, whereby it substantially funds their operations, giving (recirculating) billions to hospitals or schools. Right or wrong (I know it’s the latter), but definitely because of the giveaways, the state’s bureaucracy has the ability to control what happens since it has a vested interest in the outcome of its investments, showcasing the flaws in mixed economies and mixed governments that strip people of the true personal and community freedom associated with free markets and representative government.

Taxpayers, parents and school boards — all of them the people who, besides the kids, matter the most in this equation — won’t have a say in the future of their schools; they’ll be forced to do what the state says. Remember the activism that occurred statewide when residents were told the local hospitals where their children were delivered or their lives were saved were set to close? That ire will be nothing compared to what will happen when a faceless and unaccountable government entity tells people that their neighborhood school will be closed or their district — sometimes the only thing that binds a community — will be devoured by a nearby one.

Such decisions — and they are hard ones — need to happen. Statewide, we have too many schools, too many teachers, too many administrators and too many redundant operations. All of those cost taxpayers too much money. But, the design and implementation of the plans to temper such waste are best left in the hands of the local voters and the school boards they empower. Only they know the needs, expectations and limitations of their local residents and their children. Let them decide.

So, how do we make that happen?

First, we must contact our legislators and ask that they vote “no” on the education commission. That may prove to be a difficult undertaking as it’s fashionable for senators and assemblypeople to trumpet the consolidation of school districts (mind you, this is a state Legislature that can’t clean its own house). But, if they hear from enough citizens (not to mention the school unions) they may change their tune.

Secondly, we must pursue other options. Earlier this year, the New York Reorganization and Empowerment Act — penned by current gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo — became law. This fine piece of legislation allows voters and town/village boards to easily initiate the process to dissolve or consolidate their towns, villages and special districts.

School districts, though, were not included in the act — but they deserve similar legislation. If Cuomo becomes governor, which is almost certain, this would be something for him to champion at the urging of a populace that deserves the right to manage its own schools.

Bob Confer is a Gasport resident and vice president of Confer Plastics Inc. in North Tonawanda. E-mail him at bobconfer@juno.com.

Text Only

Opinion

LEFFLER: The things that actually matter
To hear some people tell it, this great republic of ours is on the brink of disintegration.

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
Your friends are great ... at Facebook
The internet has been the facilitator of a lot of good things; it allows us to comparison shop without putting on pants, lets people check the weather report without having to watch the rest of the news and it’s made keeping in touch with friends and family a breeze; cruising through Facebook seeing pictures of your friend from high school’s new baby, a twitter feed full of self-promoting tweets about your neighbor’s new online start-up, a status update from your nephew that talks about meeting Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly. Reading all of these updates from the exciting lives of your friends and family while you sit at home, it can at times feel like everyone is living the dream but you.

May 17, 2012 1 Photo
VINCENT DAVIS II: Oil prices and the 'Bro-conomy'
Can we be serious for a moment; not too long, but longer than usual? Gas prices are going up folks. US oil drilling is at its highest point in more than 10 years. But when Toyota Prius commercials come on TV during sporting events, we know longer make fun of them for advertising a “fake car” that “only a hippy or English professor would drive.” Instead, we think to ourselves “40 miles a gallon, that does sound nice ...”

March 16, 2012 1 Photo
‘Mailing it in’ is not good enough
The U.S. Postal Service has been mailing it in for years. It has stuck like an old postage stamp to a business model that was going nowhere fast, literally. Snail mail is still the USPS stock in trade, and it has increasingly earned its nickname. And for a poorly run operation, it certainly does cost a lot. USPS must offer competitive shipping options, guaranteed faster delivery times and overall service enhancements — or the death spiral of an American institution will continue.

March 2, 2012
Helen M. Liddell
February 1, 2012
LEFFLER: I remember the scream
If you’re sick of news of the run for the White House, I’ve got some really bad news for you: It’s about to get worse.

January 3, 2012 1 Photo
OUR VIEW: Time for Mongielo to face the music
Town of Lockport auto repair shop owner David Mongielo has gone over the line in his violation of a town sign ordinance.

January 2, 2012
OUR VIEW: At dawn of New Year, a call for civility
Each new year brings with it an inherent hopefulness in our own lives and the larger world around us, this one in particular — if only because it isn’t 2011.

January 2, 2012
Have a safe New Year's Eve
This isn’t the Prohibition era, and we’re not into moralizing about alcohol consumption.
We have no beef about adults having a few drinks on New Year’s Eve, as long as no one else gets hurt in the process. Your choice — hangover, no hangover. Check yes or no.
But, with one very important proviso: Don’t drink and drive.
And we’re very much against hosts of a New Year’s Eve party sending their guests out to their cars when their guests have overindulged. Especially when there are safe options to avoid behavior that risks your life and that of others you may encounter on the road.

December 31, 2011
The bus stops here
The NFTA’s proposed cuts to local bus routes have the potential to really hurt the little guy, the rider who relies on the bus to get to work, to shop, to get to the doctor’s.
It just shouldn’t happen.

December 28, 2011
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Related Photos

CONFER: Having a say in school closings

Site Map

Contact Us