After the failure of the Douglas County Schools proposals to increase school funding were defeated this fall, there has been the usual analysis and second-guessing, and the now all-too-common, “we just didn’t communicate” or “they just didn’t understand.” And now we’re told that the district is already planning to come back with another run. So, in anticipation of that reprise, I’d like to offer a couple of thoughts for the administration and board to consider.

First, consider the quality of your product. The primary mission of our schools is to educate our future citizenry in basics like reading, writing, math and civics. Yet by many measures the outcomes are not up to expectations: large percentages of our students cannot demonstrate grade-level proficiency in reading or math; colleges have had to establish more remedial classes because their incoming classes are not prepared to handle college-level course work; polls continue to show large percentages of our population cannot even name the three branches of government, let alone properly identify their roles and interactions. And we all have our own anecdotal experiences with graduates who cannot speak a grammatically correct sentence, the poor clerk who’d be at a loss to give you change if the cash register didn’t tell them what to give, and voters who lack an appreciation for the difference between a democracy and a republic. So, my suggestion to the district is to do some serious thinking about how to reshape your work and outcomes. I recognize that “back to basics” will make the hair stand up on some folks, but perhaps there would be a greater willingness to fund schools if the “product” was more up to expectations.

And, secondly, consider perceptions. All too often as we drive by our schools we note that it’s yet another holiday or day off. It thus becomes no wonder that our kids aren’t achieving as we’d hope when they’re not in the classroom so much of the time. So, again, maybe a fresh look at how many holidays, planning days, and whatever else you call that missed classroom time would also help Douglas County voters feel like chipping in more.

Ron Newton

Highlands Ranch