I  am really disappointed that I could not attend the school board meeting last week in which the board was trying to justify their request for a 2.2-percent increase in property taxes.

The obvious question is, what are we getting for our money now and what will we get with an increase? According to the way I read it, the fault of our lousy system here in Natchez is mainly due to the number of delinquent parents who have no interest in participating in their children’s education.

We seem to have vastly improved our methods of rounding up delinquent dads (and moms) in this country that don’t pay child support. We simply identify them and have them pay a fine. This may be a good idea to use on participation-delinquent parents. I can envision a law in which each parent is required to attend PTA meetings and sign in.  Allow them to miss a couple of meetings during the year. If they exceed their absences, hit ‘em with a $100 fine. If they come in a belligerent mood or in a snit, call the police.

But, this makes too much sense in our government schools. They like to make one-size-fits-all mandates that cannot be enforced. I refer to “zero tolerance” wherein a child who points his finger and says “bang” is just as guilty as one who brings a 9 mm pistol to class.

“No Child Left Behind” — What if a child is already ahead, are we then going to hold him back? We need to be as concerned for our good students as we are our lousy ones.  The government spin doctors are continually thinking up hot, new catch-phrases.

From someone on the outside looking in, there seems to be lot of waste going on in our government schools. I am not opposed to needful people getting some assistance, but the outward appearance of many of the parents don’t suggest that they need government handouts. Regardless, their children get free meals and God only knows what else is free. The abuse of this system is truly an example of “riding a free horse to death.”

Is there a law that concerns itself with fraudulent disclosure of yearly income? If there is, bring it on!

There seems to be a whole lot of chiefs and very few Indians at the old Braden School.  Each time I go there, I am always aware of the number of clip-boarders (those carrying clip boards) that seem to be roaming the hallways. My mother taught for more than 40 years. At one time during her career, she was earning $1 per hour and she never had the opportunity to carry a clipboard.

If there were an honest disclosure of salaries paid to chiefs and salaries paid to Indians, perhaps the working man could make much better decisions concerning efficiency than our government employees seem to do.

The Natchez-Adams School Board may even learn two new words — downsizing and multi-tasking.

Ed Field

Natchez resident