- Perry Local Schools has seen the light and decided to shrink its massive school construction plan by one building. Not the light of steadily decreasing enrollment, despite the fact that the new buildings will accommodate double the number of students currently enrolled in the schools being replaced. (“I don't know where all the kids have gone even with our growing housing markets.”) Not the light of reason as shone by the state (which suggested that two new elementary buildings was the more realistic number, to which the district responded, “Nah, we’re good with four.”) And not even the light of cost-effectiveness since the no-duh quote which is our headline today came as part of the after-the-fact rationalization enthusing over the scaled-back plan. The “reality” in question is spelled out in the troubling first paragraph of the piece: “The rising cost of materials, supply shortages and a lackluster workforce [ouch, says your humble clips compiler—where do you suppose some of those low-quality folks went to school?]”. By knocking off one new elementary building and making a couple of other alterations, the district has cut the original plan by more than half—over $90 million. “We saw cost savings by downsizing,” said one district official by way of massive understatement. While that same official also said, “The worst thing to do is build four buildings and not have enough kids to fill them,” I don’t think local taxpayers should be feeling too buoyed by this sudden onset of thrift and reasonable statements. That same official promised that if the Perry Local’s enrollment would soar—or new funding would become available (regardless of whether there are kids needing more space)—officials could reconsider adding the fourth school in the future. Oy vey. (Canton Repository, 3/22/22)
- Speaking of the power and joy of local control (were we?), Youngstown City Schools says 9 of the 13 objectives in its school turnaround plan which can be measured at this point in time have already been met or exceeded. Miraculous. (Vindy.com, 3/23/22)
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