By Dennis Carlson
Ed.D. 

Inaccurate comparisons made between school districts

 

Last updated 2/3/2021 at 9:05am



The Star is truly a community newspaper that provides information and publishes varied opinions for its readers. I often agree with those opinions that appear on its Opinion Page, sometimes disagree but seldom have no interest in the opinions expressed. I rarely respond to those opinions with which I disagree. However, a reader’s perception of what is being stated can often become that reader’s truth if the opinions are stated without the factual background from which readers can decide for themselves if they agree or not with the writer.

I have followed the opinion pieces authored by Coulee Dam resident John Adkins, who also happens to be the superintendent of the Wellpinit School District. While I respect his years of experience as a teacher and school administrator and applaud his noted successes, he makes several statements — without any factual references — in his opinion piece that was published on January 20th in The Star. I am responding by offering facts that address some of his statements. All my facts were gathered from the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s (OSPI) website and based on the most current data available.

First, the GCDSD enrolls approximately 300 more students than the WSD and serves students from five counties, two elementary school districts, five communities, and part of one Reservation. During my six years as GCDSD superintendent, I found much of my job assignment centered around the fact that the school district, through its superintendent, was the only entity that actually communicated with all of the above entities in order to coordinate services to our district’s students. To suggest that the superintendent’s job could become a shared leadership position is ridiculous, especially for someone like Mr. Adkins who, as a former superintendent of the Nespelem School District, knows of some of the complex interactions required.

I am a local district taxpayer and also have concerns about how our district is so dependent upon local tax levies for its support. In comparing the two districts, I found that the Wellpinit District expends $20,867 per student, while our local district spends $15,449. Even with this information at hand, Mr. Adkins suggested that our district should be more fiscally conservative by comparing the Wellpinit financial status to our local district and specifically identified federal Impact Aid as a source of funding. In comparing the two districts, Wellpinit (with 300 fewer enrolled students) received a total of $3,613,173 in federal support last year of which $2,757,503 was specifically identified for support of maintenance and operations, while the GCDSD received a total of $2,158,165 of which only $904,734 supported the district’s maintenance and operations. Clearly, our district pays the price for having so much open space and untaxed federal and state property.

While fiscal issues are a concern, patrons look at other indicators of school success that go beyond finances. How are our students being prepared for future success? I encourage readers of The Star to go to the Superintendent of Public Instructions website and check on the data and compare the two districts (https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/100095 and https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/100289) for additional information.

 

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