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Scott will reintroduce academic rigorTo the editor:The children of Monroe County deserve a good education, and the upcoming School Board election is a very important event in making sure they get the education they need to compete in the 21st century economy. To this end, I believe the voters of the Monroe County Community School Corporation school district should vote for Dr. William E. Scott. Dr. Scott realizes that throwing money at problems is not the way to improve education, and that we must instead pursue structural changes that will give Monroe County's children the best education possible. He was instrumental in defeating the massive and unnecessary $6.88 million permanent excess property tax increase last year. You will not see Dr. Scott voting for massive tax increases, and he will work hard to keep your tax burden low while keeping educational standards high. And if you don't think property taxes are relevant to you as a student, you should realize that property taxes are a cost of doing business and will be passed on to IU students in the form of higher rent and higher prices. Dr. Scott has conducted an intensive investigation of the performance of MCCSC schools, and has concluded that by every reasonable measure MCCSC is not performing well. Dr. Scott believes that MCCSC must reinstate academic rigor in the classroom to make sure students have the tools they need to succeed. Dr. Scott has proposed identifying special needs children early, giving the parents the choice of whether or not to give those children special attention to help them catch up with their peers, and then putting them back in mainstream classrooms when they are ready. He will work hard to give the parents more control over their child's education. Dr. Scott will not support "social promotion," which cheats children of their education for the goal of keeping them with their age group. Instead, he will make sure Monroe County's children are well equipped for the next level before simply passing them on. If a high quality education is our goal, the choice is clear: Vote for William Scott. |