Hillbilly wisdom: Wish in one hand and spit in the other, see wish one fills up the fastest.

Put another way you might say that hope and reality lie in inverse proportion. What I see is the greatest opportunity
of your life. I dare say that the Mountain View School Board did not campaign for their job with failure in mind. For those that want to give up they should admit failure and resign. This is about education now
and in the future. Lead, follow or get out of the way. First assess the situation and develop a plan. You
need a plan. Ms Dobbins’ remarks as reported in the Leader sets the time frame for consolidation as end of the 2025-2026
school year. Not a lot of time but enough. My understanding is the situation we are in is the result
of Gov. Huckabee’s requirement for 350 students in 2004. Now we find the district under new rules set
under another Governor Huckabee’s LEARNS program implementation date Sept 2025. It has within it all that is
needed to keep this school afloat now and make this district a model for education in the future.
Mountain View School District have the physical assets to build into the future. Conveniently they are
placed apart and unfortunately this means there will be busing. Busing will be necessary.
Almost all persons in education agree that class size or teacher to student ratio has a direct effect upon
educational success. (Possible exceptions are lazy teachers or teacher who do not care). If they accept
teacher student ratio as a key component of education then to improve education for the children they
need to bus from the larger institution to the smaller. This has the added advantage of avoiding the
future cost of additional classroom construction. This would allow for growth and personal choice to be
made by the students and parents. I have not heard anyone advocate that. Why would anyone want to
bus children unless it provides a better opportunity? With three major campuses you can have
specialized, advanced, or technical classes to meet the needs of the students. As well as room for
expansion as the area grows.
Why are over 275 home schooled children this year in the Mountain View district? Would the number
of home schooners be reduced if the school system meets the needs and expectations of the young
adults and parents? The system has to compete and the best way is to provide a superior educational
experience. Teach to excellence.