Balancing costs, student needs, a difficult task

How do you balance taxpayers' ability to pay with students' need for a full, rounded offering of academic classes and activities? That is the question which lingers after the goal setting session conducted Monday night by McCook School District 17.

Ideas for improvement abound, with many at the meeting speaking in support of reviving the vocational agriculture program on the junior high and high school level. Before being cut from the curriculum, ag had been a part of the McCook schools offerings for many years. The program was valued because the vo ag students provided the core for the future of area farming and ranching operations.

Questions were also raised about art instruction in the elementary grades and instrumental music all through the school system. "What can be done to rebuild the band?," and "Why not start an art program on the grade school level, as well as offering art in junior high and high school?"

There was also a call for a return to eight class periods, from the current seven, because the additional spot would allow more options for students.

As Monday night's discussion showed, the school board and administration faces a tough choice: How can the McCook schools offer a varied and challenging educational experience for students, while keeping costs within district taxpayers' ability to pay?

It will require innovative approaches. Additional after-school, extra-curricular programs could be part of the answer, as could a volunteer support group to lend the school a hand on valued student experiences -- such as art and agriculture.

Answers are not going to come easy, because the dual demands of need and cost are not going to go away. Even so, the goal-setting session can be a valuable guide for the school board and administration, reminding them that the citizens of the McCook area want the best educational experience for their children at the most reasonable cost possible.