Making Them Feel the Hurt

Here in Colorado, like elsewhere, school districts are cutting stops and consolidating routes, and parents are expressing concern. For the second time in as many weeks, I recently heard a respected school district administrator comment “Let them feel the hurt.” When I was in-house counsel, that was a typical reaction from management when the community had voted down a mill levy increase or bond issue. We often felt that parents had to experience the true cost of their decision, and if band programs or class size was impacted, that was, after all, the point of going to the public for money. I’m finding myself wondering if, in fact, budget cuts necessitated by our economic recession really warrant the same brusqueness.

In any event, it seemed like an apropos time to suggest that we do everything in our power to ensure that the “hurt” affects only convenience and not safety or student achievement. Think about ways you can minimize the possibility that student welfare and school attendance will suffer. Monitor closely the effects of the changes you’ve been forced to make. We’re all in this one together, and we need to weigh and minimize the risks attentively.

Peggy Burns is an attorney/consultant with Education Compliance Group, Inc. Peggy can be reached at (888) 604-6141, and by email.