The Pasadena Star News should have done its homework before they endorsed La Canada school board candidates

Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news, politics, things that bug me

Today’s Pasadena Star News endorses the wrong school board candidates for the wrong reasons. They endorse the three incumbents: Scott Tracy, Joel Peterson, and Susan Boyd. While I agree with their assessment that the incumbents have done a good job in difficult financial times, they also support them because of the following:

The incumbents have fought drug and alcohol use at the high school, developed a new concentration on average teens as well as AP students and have kept class sizes low.

Did the Star-News actually get statistics that support this assertion? Because my impression, and that of the kids and local youth leaders I know, is that they’re wrong on all three counts.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the La Canada schools. I’m happy (and grateful) to send my kids to them, and I’ve put lots of energy and resources into them over the years. But they’re not perfect. And these three points are definitely weak ones. I’ve never heard of as many kids getting busted on and off campus for drug possession as I have this year, and some of the stories I’m hearing about local parties this year would give even the most liberal parent an ulcer. I don’t see much extra effort put into “average” teens, and am not even sure what this effort is supposed to be. This year’s class sizes appear to be either the same or bigger than in past years at the high school level.

The next time the Star-News makes an endorsement, they should do their homework and get the facts from the source instead of taking a candidate’s campaign claims at face value. For democracy to work, we need accurate information.

And yes, for the record, I’m the campaign manager they refer to. I strongly support Neal Millard, and believe that he’ll not only be a good steward of the district’s financial resources, but he’ll tap into his experience with charter and private schools to bring the best ideas from those worlds to our schools. I worked with Neal on the educational foundation board, and found him to be sharp, reliable, creative and diplomatic. Those qualities will allow him to work with teachers, parents and administrators to improve academics, explore new funding avenues, and improve existing programs. You can read more at www.nealmillard.com.

I like all three incumbents: they’re good, hard-working people. I applaud anyone who’s willing to do this tough job, especially these days. I think there’s room for improvement in our schools, however, and believe that Neal Millard brings our best chance for taking our schools to a higher level.