Politics aside, our schools must thrive

Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, August 17, 2013.

And just like that, summer is gone. Oh sure, there's at least one more hot spell in our future, and we won't be raking leaves for a while yet. But the teachers go back to their classrooms on Monday, and a week later, the kids arrive.

They'll enter a brave new world of change, of larger class sizes, fewer teacher assistants, and uncertainty about what our state leaders have in mind for education.

While legislative leaders insist education spending has gone up, their critics point out that our per-capita student spending is falling because funding hasn't kept pace with inflation or our fast-rising population.

No matter who wins the game of dueling numbers, what matters is what happens in the classroom. Whether there are 20 children in that room or 40, they need to be learning, absorbing the fundamentals of life and preparing themselves for the big, changing, complex world they enter when they graduate.

Here in Cumberland County, we can be thankful that our teachers and administrators are winning despite the odds. The school system is a finalist for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education, based on how school systems improve and close achievement gaps. The schools also received full accreditation from AdvancED, an international accrediting institution.

Those accomplishments come during a time when recession has driven down state revenues. Education budgets have been cut, year after year. It's fortunate that this school district has had reserve funds to buffer budget cuts. Reserves can't last forever, though. But a resilient, determined school system can.

In an address to about 500 teachers, parents and politicians last week, schools Superintendent Frank Till applauded the work that has lifted the school system, pushing the graduation rate above 80 percent. "We can't allow the legislature to take that away from us," he said. "We have set some markers in the ground to get to the next level."

Till is setting markers with some of his fellow big-city superintendents from across the state, taking the school systems' message to legislative leaders and the statewide business community. Getting education right is a deep and important obligation to our children, but it's also a mission that can cripple our economy if we allow our educational gains to reverse.

We hope parents get the importance of making their own strong commitment to education, and to supporting their children. Pay attention. Summer is gone. And this matters.