Letter to the Editor - 4/7/22

Posted

Dear Editor:

Just when I think I have seen every ludicrous decision come from the Colleton County School Board, they surprise me one more time!

A study was conducted looking at salaries and organizational structure. The cost of the study was $44,000 - the cost of one year’s salary for a masters-prepared teacher.

Below are the recommendations.

Increase class size: Everything I have read shows that academic excellence results from smaller class sizes.

2. Add more variance to the school start times. For example, a parent has a 2nd grader, a 1st grader and a 10th grader with three different start times at their schools. The parent also has a job. Please explain how everyone is going to be at the right place at the right time!

3. Reduce custodial staff by one third. The bathrooms are a breeding ground for bacteria. If you place a student in a trashy environment, they will treat it as such.

4. Take away the Principals’ authority over the custodial staff of their schools.

5. Change hiring policy for more diversity I teaching staff. Sounds good but should not teachers be hired on the basis of qualifications? Are we going back to the days when someone’s race determined his/her eligibility to obtain employment?

6. Place Wi-Fi on buses so students can do their homework. Good idea but the current ruling from the Board prohibits the use of electronics on the bus.

7. Move multiple positions to report directly to the Superintendent. This breaks some basic tenets of management.

8. Eliminate less popular classes. Therefore, no more physics, welding, or plumbing? What message is this sending?

The parents and voters must demand better.

Silence is agreeing with these decisions.

Susan Keith

Walterboro, SC