HAS: Beware the ides of March

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Janet Leslie

Have you given your budget recommendations to Holly Area Schools Superintendent Kent Barnes yet?

He certainly has been making himself available, presenting the background to the $2.5 to $3 million in budget cuts the district faces for the 2010-2011 school year in at least three public forums, as well as to various community groups and in his Barnes Grams and Webcasts. I doubt there is a single cut Mr. Barnes and Steve Lenar, assistant superintendent of Administrative Services have not carefully considered, but it’s a testament to Mr. Barnes’ commitment to the community that he is open to input from all of us who wish to offer it. He has mentioned that most of the suggestions he has received are regarding what not to cut, rather than what to cut. But it’s obvious from the huge numbers in play that major changes are necessary. I hope you will accept Mr. Barnes’ invitation to share your views within the next two weeks if you have strong opinions on this matter.

In what strikes me as an ironic choice of dates for a public address, Mr. Barnes will present his budget recommendations to the Board of Education on March 15, the ides of March. The board will vote on the budget at its meeting March 29. After that has been done, I hope the community will keep opposing opinions to a minimum.

As an advocate of loud and clear expressions of public opinion, it’s unusual for me to suggest that anyone be silent, but I hope the community will simply support the board’s decisions once they have been made. If we raise a clamor at all, it should be in support of our schools. Many times residents suggest that “bad news” should not be publicly discussed because it reflects poorly on the community. In general, I reject that idea because bad news needs to be addressed, and it cannot be addressed if it does not see the light of day. But in the case of the school budget, we have already had ample opportunity to weigh in. Mr. Barnes has made it abundantly clear that, due to declining enrollment and declining state funding, big cuts need to be made. We know bad news is coming and there is little we can do about it. Little, that is, except to be supportive of the people who have our children’s best interest at heart.

Mr. Barnes has said, “What I want to assure you though, is that the prime directive for any school is the curriculum for students, and we’re going to sustain the programs that will allow our students to be able to compete in the world.” In so doing, I am hopeful that the decisions made will also allow our school district to compete successfully for students. It’s possible that a strong negative reaction from the community regarding the budget cuts may call attention to ourselves and may reflect negatively on our school district. The last thing we want to do as a community is to give potential new residents the idea that our schools are in crisis. Attracting new residents is far too important to the success of our community, as well as to our schools. Also, Holly Area Schools is the largest employer in our community. Jobs are important to us too, and only a significant increase in enrollment can save school jobs. We certainly don’t want to do or say anything that might negatively influence the market for the services offered by our area’s largest employer.

Instead, knowing that these next two years will be difficult for our schools, why don’t we rally around them? Why don’t we look for ways to help? So many Holly Area Schools parents have said that they think our schools are far better than their reputations would indicate. Why don’t we put our heads together and find ways to celebrate our schools and our students, and promote the idea that what we do here is special? What else can we do when times are tough but lend a hand?

And times are tough indeed for Holly Area Schools. Programs may be eliminated; jobs may be lost. March 15 will not be a day of celebration. But let’s not, in a figurative reenactment of the ides of March assassination of Julius Caesar, attack Mr. Barnes for saying what must be said, or the Board of Education for doing what must be done. We aren’t dealing here with authoritarian people making personally motivated decisions. We are dealing with community-minded people who have kept us informed and have invited our input in the course of making some very difficult decisions. They have earned our support, and supporting them will serve our community best.