The only thing that these parents had requested was that all of the children in their community be sent to nearby Wallenpaupack rather than having some of them sent to Bushkill Elementary School, in the East Stroudsburg School District. The parents in the Porter Township have been upset for some time that their children are routinely separated from other kids in their neighborhood. What makes the separation even worse, however, was that Bushkill has significantly lower test scores, as well as a lower rate of parental involvement. These parents wanted their kids to have the same opportunities as the other children in their community. Don't parents have the right to want the best education possible for their children? There isn't anything wrong with that, is there?
You can imagine how shocked these parents were to be insulted by an editorial in their local newspaper that insisted that the only reason these parents wanted to change school districts was for racial reasons and so they could pay lower school taxes. The idea that a caring parent would want to change districts for purely educational reasons and to keep their children with their neighborhood friends, was entirely dismissed.
What do my readers think? Should parents be forced to send their kids to a school system with lower test scores simply to avoid being called racists, or should they have the right to seek out the best and most appropriate public schools in their community? These parents were deeply offended by the editor's accusations, especially since it came from their local newspaper, which they felt should have been unbiased. They felt their intentions were being intentionally distorted and that the accusations of racism were simply not true.
There is no reason for me to reiterate what these parents had to say on the topic. Read this letter by one of the parents that was written in response to the editorial and decide for yourself whether their request for a change in school districts was exactly what most reasonable and rational parents would want for their children:
Letter to the Editor of the Pocono Record in Pennsylvania
Dear Editor of the Pocono Record,
The entire premise of the article "Does Race Play a Role in Porter Township School Switch" is not only false, but extremely offensive to those of us who seek only to provide our children with the highest quality of education and quality of life. The question in the headline is answered in the very first sentence of the article: "Nobody came out and said it in testimony". The writer then goes on to fabricate a completely inaccurate account of what Porter Township is trying to accomplish. Over seven people testified in favor of the initiative, and we all made ourselves very clear as to our motivations. The school board's District Attorney and the writer of the article have chosen to ignore the actual testimony and spin the issue in such a way as to attempt to deflect criticism from where it belongs: the East Stroudsburg School District. To attempt to do this by insinuating that I and my friends and neighbors are racists is not only personally offensive, but shows an unfortunate disregard for the basics of civil discourse.
The first and foremost concern for all of us, especially those of us with school age children like myself, is a better education. Look at the test scores and compare them year after year like I did. Wallenpaupack tests better. Then look at the social factors for the parents of children who have been born and raised alongside other children in their community, but now must attend a school full of strangers. Not because they are of a different race, because they have already formed friendships and bonds with children in their neighborhood, their church, their parks and play grounds, their library, their pools and lakes and their Pre-K classes and play groups.
Taxes are also a concern, but I'd pay the same or more just to live in a place where I could experience belonging to a community and having my child go to the same school with higher education goals and standards not to mention better parent participation in PTA and extracurricular events. Surely wanting to pay lower taxes in today's extremely difficult financial climate cannot be a bad thing? Why are the people of Porter being depicted as racists who don't want to pay taxes? Because having failed to make their case for blocking the initiative, the East Stroudsburg School District has chosen to play the race card - and the writer of the article is complicit in this disingenuous and somewhat desperate tactic.
Lastly, our property values have been damaged by the (largely deserved) poor reputation of the East Stroudsburg school district. Why not look into that contributing factor? Why is the school district performing so poorly? Who is to blame? Surely it is not the fault of Porter Township who only contributes a drop in the overall bucket of their budget. Also, the District ought to take a long, hard look at the lack of parent and teacher involvement beyond the classroom. I say this from experience as an active PTO member at Bushkill Elementary. All fundraising efforts fall on the shoulders of 3 overworked board members, and a handful of teachers--in an elementary school with over 400 children. The East Stroudsburg School District has a clear responsibility to manage its budget and bring the community together to serve our children. Instead, it chooses to make a grab for undeserved revenue, and to engage in divisive rhetoric.
I expect more from our local newspaper, upon which I rely on you to gather facts and evidence, not pander to a failing school districts attempt to keep 1 million in undeserved tax revenue to provide an inferior education to less than 50 students.
Best Regards,
Cynthia
You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com
Photo of school bus courtesy of www.morguefile.com
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