The story of Geoffrey Balkam dying has nothing to do with Genesee County. Or maybe it has much to do with Genesee County.
Reading the story I thought about the little dust up we had earlier in the week about a Pavilion superintendent earning a rather sizable paycheck. Residents from Pavilion defended the salary, saying Ed Orman has done a great job for many years.
The Climax-Scotts school district in Michigan is now wondering what it's going to do with out Balkam, who has led the school district through some tough times, including recent economic constraints.
The untimely death of Superintendent Geoffrey Balkam not only is a personal tragedy for Climax-Scotts Community Schools, but could hasten the demise of a small, rural district already struggling to survive.
"The fear is real. There's no denying it," said Climax-Scotts athletic director Kevin Langs, who delivered the eulogy at Balkam's memorial service Tuesday.
"I don't know what the future holds. I don't," Langs said. "I believe, and Geoff felt the same way, that there is a niche in today's world for small, rural public schools. But just because I believe that doesn't mean it will happen."
The story kind of illustrates the idea that the complexity of running a school district is not necessarily tied to the number of students in the district. Small, rural districts have their own unique challenges.
I'm glad you posted this
I'm glad you posted this article since so many agencies are looking at consolidation as the answer to financial shortfalls. I believe that consolidation has it's advantages in certain agencies but I think school districts need to remain autonomous. Perhaps there could be limited consolidation at the highest levels of administration. When my wife and looked to purchase our first home, one the main criteria was loaction in the Oakfield-Alabama school district. We were and still are sold on the quality of teachers, class sizes, technology, integrity of the board, and overall mission of the district. I'm afraid that with large scale consolidations we would lose the local control over cirriculum, facilities planning, and focus on student success.
This should serve as a call to stay aware and stay involved before we lose any say in the matter.
Thanks for the comment,
Thanks for the comment, Jeff.
I can't say that I've ever seen much good coming from cramming more and more students into bigger and bigger school districts and schools.
Small has many virtues.