School Board Elections/Pre-school Debacle

As the end of the year approaches it becomes more imperative that individuals considering running for the school board begin the groundwork of collecting petitions and talking up their candidacy. This year is an important one since city council members are also up for election. From sources it appears that several interesting potential candidates are considering both boards. A widely respected businessman with critical views of the school board is considering a run. His intent is to get the board back on the “right track”. Specifically he wants a careful audit of all school board expenditures. He already has uncovered some questionable uses of funds. He has stated he will not be “a board yes man” but intends to ask questions that many people want to know the answers to but that school board members have been negligent in asking. This person is just one in a growing list of people who want to see real change and fiscal responsibility in regards to the city schools.
A common theme among all new candidates is the fact that the district needs to consolidate operations and close some underused facilities. There is simply no reason for some facilities to continue to operate with such low numbers. It is time the school district got off its high calorie diet and trimmed a little fat.
The district unwisely already has committed funds to an ill conceived pre-school program at Johnson. At one time pre-school programs were thought to give disadvantaged children a “leg up” on the learning process. Head Start was based on a few pilot programs, such as the Perry Preschool program, that were believed to be effective. Advocates asserted that a national preschool program for disadvantaged children would yield the same positive results. However, the 2010 Head Start Impact Study, a scientifically rigorous evaluation of multiple Head Start sites throughout the nation, found that the program is clearly ineffective. The program has had little to no positive effects for children granted access to Head Start. More recently, the General Accounting Office reported that there is simply no evidence that Head Start provides lasting benefits. Essentially, children end up back where they started. Those findings are consistent with 40 years of research on early intervention that shows that short-term benefits are possible but lasting gains are elusive.
So why is DPS investing so heavily in this program that has statistical evidence that it does not work? That’s a question for the new candidates to ask. And also ask why $600,000 has been thrown away while other students at Johnson are still learning in 20 plus year old trailers..........