Congratulations to the Tribune and Casey Banas for the front page article, ”No-frills school gets results” (Jan. 14). It gives us a rare glimpse of a vanishing species of public education.
The elementary school district in Dalzell represents public education as it was intended. We see a small, self-contained community system with real people on the school board and real people teaching. We sense the respect that exists in the relationships contrasted with the anonymity of much larger public education systems.
Yet, the article concludes by advising us that Dalzell is on the track to consolidation with ”several adjoining school districts.” And so the continuing demise of public education is seen to be the ongoing transfer of power from local communi-ties to larger and larger govern-ment bodies-larger school districts, regional superin-tendents, statehouses and, finally, the federal government. This process is aided and abetted by the largest unions in the country and untold numbers of other educational establishment associations.
The true litmus test of the many, many ”education reforms” constantly tossed about today is: Will the reform coun-ter the flow and serve to drive power and control back to local communities and real people?
There aren`t many Dalzells left around the country and their disappearances, one by one, shout at us that public education in America continues in a state of steady decline.
