Random Thoughts - All Politics Are Local

It's been several days since I've had an opportunity to share more random thoughts with you. I've been "working" too much - 5 straight days! - and I’ve also spent my “free time” updating my IPOD, which is a never ending task. ("An IPOD, it will CHANGE your life....").

An editorial in the Sunday Ames Tribune (4/6/08) "caught my eye" today - which is probably a tremendous understatement. I want to share just a couple of paragraphs with you ... and then add some of my own commentary. This is just a segment of an extended editorial entitled, “Go north, young man”.

"THE YO-YO OF ENROLLMENT AND FINANCE IN THE AMES SCHOOL DISTRICT IS A SYMPTOM OF THE LARGER PATTERN OF GROWTH, OR LACK OF IT, IN AMES IN GENERAL. THE ARTIFICIAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE GILBERT AND AMES DISTRICTS EXACERBATES THE PROBLEM. AND UNFORTUNATELY, HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH WOULD YIELD NO NEW STUDENTS FOR THE AMES DISTRICT. THEY WOULD ALL ATTEND GILBERT.

AMES CAN’T KEEP BUILDING ONLY INTO THE GILBERT SCHOOL DISTRICT. IT’S KILLING ITS OWN SCHOOLS AND INFLATING GILBERT. THERE’S EVEN SOME SENTIMENT IN GILBERT THAT THEY DON’T WANT MORE STUDENTS. THEY LIKE BEING SMALL.

BEST WOULD BE, AS WE’VE SAID FOR A LONG TIME, FOR THE TWO DISTRICTS TO MERGE. RETAIN THE “FEEL” AND THE SECOND HIGH SCHOOL OPTION OF GILBERT, BUT ALLOW THE RESOURCES TO BE SPREAD ACROSS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. IT IS THE COMMUNITY --- NOT LINES ON A MAP--- THAT EDUCATES ITS KIDS. WE SHOULD BE TAKING CARE OF ALL CHILDREN FAIRLY.

“ARTIFICIAL BOUNDARY”
I’d like to start by examing the statement concerning “artificial boundary.” When examing boundaries in general, I think you’ll find most of them are artificial, if that means arbitrary. Look at most of the state boundaries within our own country. A few like Iowa’s west and east borders are not arbitrary - they follow specific geographical features, in this case the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. But let’s look at Iowa’s north and southern boundaries, or many others - the entire state of Colorado, the northern southern, and western borders of Nebraska and Kansas. I think you begin to get the idea. Ding, Ding! Boundaries are most generally artifical “lines.” With school district boundaries in Iowa, most all of them would fit into this classification of artificial or arbitrary.

“HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH WOULD YIELD NO NEW STUDENTS FOR THE AMES DISTRICT”
Iowa has for many years now had open enrollment. Those families living in North Ames, or most anywhere in Iowa (a few districts have restrictions because of desegregation plans or space available limitations), can attend the district of their choice. Many families in the city of Ames do already make this choice with some in the Ames School District choosing to attend the Gilbert School District and some in the Gilbert School District choosing to attend the Ames School District.

“INFLATING GILBERT & THEY LIKE BEING SMALL”
I’m not even sure what this first phrase is intended to mean. Does it mean that the city of Ames is making the GCSD bigger? I would guess that most people with students in the GCSD like the size of their district. Attaching words like “big” and “small” to these types of discussions can bring about less not more clarity to an issue. “Big” and “small” are relative terms. I seem to remember statements in the Ames Tribune during the past year about AHS having to compete with big high schools like Valley HS, etc. To many people in the state of Iowa, a high school with 90-100 students in a graduating class would not be a “small” high school....

“BEST WOULD BE,” “RETAIN THE “FEEL,” and “ALLOW THE RESOURCES TO BE SPREAD ACROSS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY”
The best for who and in whose opinion? Obviously this is the opinion of the Ames Tribune, but I’m certain many, many people in the Gilbert School District would not agree that this would be best. What does the statement “retain the feel” supposed to mean? We could have a “bigger” and a “smaller” high school? The statement concerning “resources” might lead a skeptical person to think this means, let’s change how the money is divided and let students attend the school they would like. Except, wait a minute - people already have the option to attend the school that they wish and the cost per pupil does follow the student.

The Ames School District is a fine district. It is very probably one of the finest “metro” school districts in the state of Iowa. However, not everyone wants a “metro” experience for their children. Currently many of those people are choosing to live in the City of Ames and in the Gilbert School District. Maybe the Ames Tribune needs to come to the realization that many of the citizens of Ames like both living in the City of Ames and having their children be students in the Gilbert School District.

Qman