To start off December, we are going to focus on some of the critiques we have regarding the decision to close schools, specifically how the school closures were presented.
On the first day of school, members at Sandusky and T.C. Miller were told their schools were not going to close. That was the guarantee made by school board members and some administrators.
This made sense. MGT Educational Consulting did not present their entire report until August 8th and none of the closings were scheduled until 2025. Everyone thought that there would be more time before any closings were announced. More time to make an actual plan. More time to guarantee positions for teachers. More time to assure students and their families of their future.
That all changed on August 29th when Dr. Day began his trend of unilateral decision making. Dr. Day, vice-chair of the school board and chair of the finance committee, presented his own plan to the finance committee. His proposal, a fifth scenario, closed Dearington and T. C. Miller Elementary Schools.
Dr. Day claimed he chose these schools because “they are the most expensive per student”. He touted an extensive analysis and was praised by other members for his work, but it is far from extensive or exemplary.
Day’s analysis was flawed, archaic, and included one metric: costs per student. It was also not extensive. He didn’t consider the tenure of teachers (increasing instructional costs), the advancement programs at those buildings (which the district has stated they will continue), or how these two schools serve communities with large numbers below the poverty line and they have more costs to provide an equitable education.
None of this was considered by Day.
His proposal lacked context and was presented on a simple spreadsheet that could not have taken more than 20-30 minutes to prepare. It was not clear, something that was abundantly apparent when Day, himself, misrepresented what the values meant.
Again, Day has repeatedly misrepresented what the costs are that he presented in his evaluation. He has misrepresented the intent of the Master Plan. And, he has misrepresented what the cost savings are.
Day chose Dearington and T.C.Miller because he believed they are the most expensive and that closing these schools would cover the majority of the 7.2 million dollar deficit the district is facing this year.
This could not be further from the truth.
In reality, no savings happen until at least 2030. The lack of understanding of the Master Plan is concerning; however, what is more concerning is the lack of awareness of his comprehension.
Dr. Day believes he knows what he is talking about. He has misdirected the school board many times, repeatedly introduced his own proposals, and has rarely been questioned. He is unilaterally leading the school board down a path that harms public education and students and he must be stopped.
We can not allow one man to control the future of public education in Lynchburg?
Join us in voicing opposition to the school closures, opposition to Dr. Day’’s unilateral decision making, and opposition to the destruction of public education.