Many thanks to Dan Nerad for bring in financial controls that allowed us to not increase tax burden that seemed a constant under the previous Superintendent and school boards. Dan seemed to be able to find funds that the previous administration couldent see.I also appreciate his bring in the 4 year olds which seemed to have help with our present budget. I feel we have never addressed the main cause of student failure to perform at grade level and respect themselves and others,that cause being a lack of parenting skills by the students parents. It is not a school resonsibility but it does affect students. We need national and local discussion regarding how these parents can be supported to help their students achieve.Schools can not turn around our sliding achievement levels without the supprt of the students parents too many of which are too impaired by various addictions,behavior problems etc to parent.

I wholly disagree that a child's failure to perform in school is caused by poor parenting skills. Such problems are much more pervasive and less personal and private.

This country is profoundly anti-intellectual and anti-knowledge. I haven't made lists of the incredibly stupid and unsupported positions that those who have the public forums and are in positions of power and responsibility take, nor the comments made on most blog sites. They are never ending, and almost never are there comments which show any intelligence whatsoever.

Take schools for example. There is no evidence that any idea or curriculum or teaching style or theory or charter vs public school has had any positive effect in our schools or in student achievement in the past 50 years. Why is that? Perhaps because absolutely no one knows what they are taking about.

I have monitored many education sites over the years, read many books, read many papers, and I would say without any doubt that you would be hard pressed to pinpoint even the decade in which the material was published. Every year the same opinions are being expressed as though profound and new.

Okay, new buzzwords are being developed year after year as though the ideas behind them are new rather than old stuff that didn't work 40 years ago.

Our children are not failing in spite of our best efforts, but because of them.