Make courageous choice, put classroom first
Unquestionably these are trying times. I have the utmost respect for each of the members of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education. I do not envy you as you approach the decisions you are being asked to consider.
I hope, as the board members wrestle with budgetary matters, you will remember that the primary purpose of the public schools is education. Since academic learning is the major function of schools, no cuts to personnel, materials, or resources that support instruction should be considered, unless, and until, all other remedies have been implemented.
Remember that no factor is more important to the education our students receive than the presence of all of the educators who work with them daily. As you weigh what and where to make necessary cuts, bear in mind that no administrator can replace that educator who works directly with the child. Remember, also, that teachers cannot teach without access to instructional resources. Books, paper, copiers, manipulatives, and even computers, with their software and internet access, are essential to preparing our students to succeed.
I suggest that athletics and other extracurriculars are secondary to educational pursuits. Without question, these areas provide benefits to our students, but they are not our primary purpose. All funding for sports and extracurricular activities should be suspended until complete funding of educational programs is fulfilled. This will be a loss to our students and to our community. Hopefully, by suffering this secondary loss, our community leaders can be persuaded to find a way to fund our schools’ primary purpose. We cannot sacrifice the educational preparation our children need to compete successfully in the increasingly global economy.
Every challenge carries inherent opportunity. Please summon the courage to seize it.
ó Mike Herron
Herron is the technology facilitator for the Rowan-Salisbury School System.Great tennis event
I want to thank the Salisbury Rotary Club and Reid Leonard in particular for hosting a wonderful tennis tournament this past weekend at City Park.
Being relatively new to Salisbury, I’ve heard that tennis was a very active sport in Salisbury in the past, with fun tournaments. The new courts at City Park are beautiful and made a wonderful venue for the tournament.
My only disappointment, other than losing my match, was that the Salisbury Post did not care to cover it. This tournament had an amazing age range of participants ó some younger than 10, some older than 60 ó just the thing that would interest many readers. As far as I could tell, it went off without a hitch, and many people came by just to watch or cheer their friends on.
No offense, but I think more people would have been interested in this story than the one about burying a bird! (Of course, they could both be covered, making even more readers happy). I hope we can get more tennis events in the future at this park, and I hope the Salisbury Post will cover them!
ó Shirley Price
Salisbury