'Stay the course' with Ogden school board

Editor,

This year’s race for the Ogden school board is particularly difficult in that all those running are honest, upright, and good men capable to doing an excellent job--in a sense and regardless of the outcome--it could be considered "win-win." But over the past four years the current members of the Ogden city school board have instituted some new and very bold initiatives intended to better educate the children in their charge. In doing so, the board has moved away from the old "business as usual," administrative style that has pervaded public schools and has at times encouraged mediocracy by compensating teachers via obligatory step raises. This system fails in many cases, to recognize and reward teaching excellence. By establishing a performance based merit pay system, the board not only wants to promote excellence in student education, but encourage teachers to be creative and use cutting edge techniques and pedagogy in their classrooms. Already these changes are baring fruit as supported by recently released data from the Utah State School Board. Such a system also allows administrators to recognize and reward those teachers who establish a standard of excellence in their class rooms.

Shane Story and Don Belnap have, during their tenure on the Ogden city school board, been some of agents of these new, forward thinking educational philosophies. To be bold in making changes is one thing. Seeing something through to completion--dealing both with the easy fixes as well as facing the extremely difficult and sometimes unpopular issues is quite another.

We need to "stay the course." Shane and Don, along with those sitting beside them on the current board, not only have an obligation to see these ground-breaking initiatives through to their logical ends, but should be given the opportunity to do so. The citizens of Ogden need to re-elect Shane Story and Don Belnap as members of the Ogden city school board, so they can complete the important work of which they are, in great part, responsible.

Shane and Don are obligated to see their theories through to the end. Re-elect them and allow them to finish what they’ve started.

Ogden