Category: Pointless Digressions, Rants a.k.a. Commentary || By

(Or, "Letters from the Editor")

. . .

School Daze, School Daze: Visiting Propel McKeesport school this week, I was struck by what it doesn't have --- a fancy, ultra-modern building, for one thing. (Alert Reader Adam pointed out the same thing in the comments to that story.)

New buildings seem to be all the rage among Mon Valley school districts, yet Propel is getting by with what amounts to the old St. Mary Czestochowa elementary school, with an addition on one side.

Serra Catholic High School in Haler Heights is also getting by with a building largely the same as it's been since 1961.

You don't suppose that what goes on inside the building is more important?

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And Another Thing: You know another thing Serra, Propel and other non-public schools don't have? School boards. And around here, the makeup of school boards seems to change every two years.

First, one faction gets a majority. Two years later, another faction comes into power. The first board appoints a superintendent; two years later, the new school directors fire him. Principals and assistant superintendents then get shuffled as well.

Now, it's true that Serra, Propel and other non-public schools are not a fair apples-to-apples comparison with public schools. Public school attendance is compulsory, meaning some children are there even though their parents don't care about their education.

In contrast, students who are at private schools have parents who at least are motivated enough about education to select a school.

But I have to wonder what effect the constant upheaval on Mon-Yough area public school boards has on leadership inside the schools.

. . .

And Finally: Serving on a school board in Pennsylvania requires no training whatsoever. Although dIstrict magistrates are also elected, they have to be certified through the state's Minor Judiciary Education Board.

In other words, Pennsylvania doesn't mandate standards for the people who are in charge of educating our children, but we do mandate training for the people who lock 'em up.

That's a good thing, because if Pennsylvania keeps turning out stupid kids, we're going to need a lot more magistrates.

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The Silence was Deafening: Two weeks ago, McKeesport Mayor Jim Brewster offered what seems to me a pretty solid argument for revenue sharing of natural gas royalties.

The plan, written by Brewster with city Administrator Dennis Pittman and city Solicitor J. Jason Elash, is only a few pages. It's not complicated to understand.

Two state legislators are vowing to introduce it as a house bill. It could wind up being part of the 2010-11 budget negotiations, which would naturally lead to fireworks in Harrisburg.

Pat Cloonan of the Daily News covered it. The Almanac covered it.

And the Pittsburgh media ... ignored it. Wow. Color me shocked. Ditto for the Terry Lee event at the Palisades last month. If the Almanac and Cindy Shegan Keeley of the News hadn't been there, you'd have seen nothing.

But if someone had been shot on Jenny Lind Street that night, well, they'd have been all over that.

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On the Other Hand: Or, it may just be that nobody cares about McKeesport, according to Mike Madison of Pittsblog. Ah, well, we can't all live in Caketown.

Next time the mayor wants to propose something like this, let's start a rumor that he's at Mardi Gras.

Then Virginia Montanez will write about it, which will enable Pittsburgh reporters to cover it, because let's face it, it ain't news unless they've read it someplace else first.

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Tragedy Tomorrow, Comedy Tonight: The Daily News runs a lot of editorials from its parent newspaper, the Tribune-Review.

They're wonderful. Sometimes I enjoy reading them aloud in a voice like Pete Puma from the Warner Brothers cartoons. Other times, I read them in a voice like Mr. Potter's from It's a Wonderful Life.

Anyway, if you don't subscribe, I encourage you to get the Daily News, just for the editorial page.

They're running a survey right now to determine what comic strips to keep, and which ones to kill, but for my money, the real comedy's on page 6.

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Come to Think of It: Say, you don't suppose those editorials are supposed to be taken seriously, do you?

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