One way or the other

Mr. Vernon Befort's letter to the editor about "Who's running the schools?" brings up several conflicting points. On the face of it, the following people do -- the superintendent of instruction, the principals and vice-principals, the teachers, those who work there otherwise, and to a limited extent parents. Behind the scenes, the school board members have varied input. No, the taxpayers per se do not run the public schools.

Where does the money go? This is Mr. Befort's main concern, I think. It is not an entirely mistaken one, I think. The proposed weight room seems to be a sore spot with him because he thinks the money might be spent better in another manner, and that taxes might be raised in the future to cover extraneous expenses.

If most of the money to build the proposed weight room will come from private sources or "grants," then the concern about building the weight room should not be too great. Neither Mr. Befort nor myself will be around in 60 to 75 to see how, where and on whom the burden of taxation will fall. The tendency for western Kansas schools to lose enrollment might see this burden fall to a low level.

"Is sports more important than education?" by which I assume Mr. Befort means academics. The relative amount of Hays Daily News coverage for sports compared with scholastic concerns would suggest that the answer is, resoundingly, yes. But the HDN is only one source in this regard. One of the main reasons this is so is because most everyone understands and appreciates sports (more or less); the rules and proceedings of the game do not require in depth analysis, mainly just application. There are few who thrill to the solution of a difficult chemistry problem, but when it comes to a softball being lofted out of the park, well that is another matter entirely.

(President Barack Obama recently made a policy speech in which he touted the value of bolstering math and science education in this country. The problem is he is not an exemplar for the necessity, since he, like most public figures, did not study math or science himself.)

I think Mr. Befort did the public a favor by pointing out these areas of contention. The question is what do we want from our public schools mainly or foremost? If sports activities are the primary focus, then emphasis on better classroom performance will be sidelined. If sports participation and spectatorship are to be the main concern, then academic expectations will be lowered. It really is one way or the other. Something has to take priority.

Whatever the decision, and whether this is by intent or by indecision, the result will be one that sports coaches know about very well themselves. As they often say, "You have really got to want it."

Gary J. Whitesell

213 W. 21st