WBCSD parents, what’s the real problem?

I get that a lot of you don’t like the idea of Branden Durst as the new West Bonner County School District superintendent, and I can see how the optics of his hiring looks. He wouldn’t be my first choice either. But what problem are you trying to solve? I ask, because your school district is failing. Browsing through idahoschools.org and comparing Priest River High to Timberlake High:

PR graduates 63% of its kids versus 96% for Timberlake. English literacy 40% versus 82%. Math 21% versus 42%. Teachers with 6-plus years 38% versus 67%. Teachers with less than one year 31% versus 12%. Your teachers apparently can’t wait to go anywhere else and your kids aren’t the sharpest tacks in the shed. By the way, the kids didn’t suddenly hit high school and start underperforming. They had help during the K-8 years, and these appear to be systemic long-term issues in your district.

If I lived in your district I would be extremely upset about its past performance and looking for a change. But it’s not my circus and you aren’t my monkeys. I just can’t figure how one can claim it’s for the kids and then keep demanding the same ineffective, status-quo solutions that continually haven’t worked. You know, the definition of insanity? Say what you will about the current board, but at least they acknowledge that there is a problem and are trying something different. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you.

JIM BALDREE

Sagle