Columnist Sandy Thompson: Sounding the alarm on school budget cuts

Sandy Thompson

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 4:17 a.m.

Sandy Thompson is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4025 or e-mail at thompson@lasvegassun.com

A LOT OF SOUR NOTES are being sounded about the dire financial condition of the Clark County School District.

District officials are threatening to cut arts and music programs, as well as counseling.

What's wrong with that? Who needs music in the schools anyway. Those bands and orchestras only teach kids about discipline, teamwork and how to think. Shouldn't that be taught in the home?

Do away with the band programs and kids won't have to get up at 6 a.m. for practice or stay on Wednesday nights to learn drills. They won't have to rehearse after school for concerts and performances. Heck, many of their own parents don't even show up to watch the kids perform. If they don't care, why should we taxpayers?

Yeah, I heard all that stuff about student musicians being better at math. Hey, all they need to know is how to make change at a cash register.

Why do we need art? If those kids want to doodle, let 'em spraypaint an overpass. If they want to channel their creative energies, become a chef and decorate a seven-tiered wedding cake.

And who needs counselors in the schools? If a kid has a problem, he can talk to his parents. Why do we even need to test kids? Who cares if a kid is bright or another needs special attention. Let 'em all learn the same way. If it works, fine. If not, it's not my problem.

I say the proposed cuts don't go deep enough. Look at how much money we could save by cutting out high school sports. OK, so it would bruise the egos of a few parents and principals who want to boast of athletic prowess. But we wouldn't have to buy knee pads and uniforms, balls or bats. Let the kids exercise their minds in class, not on a football field. Half the stands are empty at high school sporting events anyway.

If we truly want to concentrate on the basics in schools, then delete all those computers from the budget. Give each kid a tablet and pencil. (We could probably get a good deal at MacFrugals, saving further bucks.)

While we're at it, let's get rid of the schools altogether. Then we wouldn't have to pay those pesky teachers. Can you imagine the nerve of them? They want to be paid to teach our kids!

Let parents teach their own kids. Let the kids go to work to earn their keep. They don't need to recite Shakespeare or diagram a sentence to earn those big tips waiting on tables.

We're tired of school officials knocking on our doors with their hands out. Some of us don't even have kids in school and they still want us to pay. That's like making people who don't drive pay for our roads. Well, we're not our brother's kids' keeper.

Yes, we'll save a bundle by cutting out arts and music, counseling, computers and sports. That will give us more money to spend on the really important structures in society -- prisons. It also will give us more money in our own pockets to pay for guns, shutters and alarm systems to protect our homes and property from all those juvenile delinquents running around with nothing better to do because they have no art, music or sports programs.

We have to give credit to our visionary school district officials who came up with this plan. And we have to applaud the fine citizens who support it. They make me darned proud to be a member of this community.

This plan certainly will put us on the educational map. Yep, we'll rank right there with Mississippi.

Now that's something to be proud of.