The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Editorials

July 30, 2010

Education reforms

The Register-Herald

— In all of the hub-bub that was created by the death of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, the state sadly fell behind again when it comes to the issue of education reform.

Something seems almost strangely backward here. After all, if we can’t adequately educate our children, how do we expect them to grow up and represent us as intelligent, informed members of the Legislature and Congress, let alone the other 99.9 percent who will make up our future workforce?

We’ve got major problems in West Virginia when it comes to under-achieving schools, students, administrators and teachers.

Change has to happen and our elected representatives have got to make that change happen. The system is severely fractured in many ways.

We’ve spent a lot of time recently calling on our leaders to lead, but no other issue may be more important than this one.

After a failed special session in May, a special legislative panel was formed. Its members were joined by representatives of the two state teachers unions, and the group started working toward reaching a consensus on a package of reforms proposed by Gov. Joe Manchin.

Word from the parties involved was encouraging; things seemed to be really progressing. Then, something obviously happened on the way to the Capitol.

Manchin is now clearly dismayed — again. He called the work of the Education Committees in both the Senate and House disappointing and wondered out loud why they didn’t take it more seriously.

Judy Hale, president of the West Virginia Federation of Teachers, said lawmakers engaged in some “excellent discussion” on reforms but the succession process for replacing Byrd became “the top priority” and she felt the legislators weren’t “inclined to get into further controversy at the time.”

If that’s the truth, then we are headed in the wrong direction once again.

While the stumbling and bumbling continues, the kids are the ones who are suffering the most.

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