Frustration: Harsh exchange reflects the stress of class-size issue

Far be it from us to wade into a row between a state legislator and a local official.

But we will head one off here, if we can, because we respect both men and we, meaning this community, need their attention on the issue at hand, not their ruffled feathers or bruised egos.

Rep Jimmy Dixon routinely submits op-eds for us to run, clarifying his or the GOP's position on things that we report on which either we or someone featured in the story -- in his opinion -- got wrong. (He's done so here, on this page, which we invite you to read and which will lend context to this editorial.)

And that's fine. We invite all of our elected officials to do the same, as well as for our local residents to submit letters to the editor sharing their voice on things.

But to referee here just a little bit, the class size reduction bill that has our county's schools system's back against the wall -- and several other county systems' backs as well -- is a critical issue for the people most affected by it. To us, that means the parents, teachers and administrators and most importantly the students.

Now, the county commissioners, the county manager, the superintendent of the school system and countless others have been critical of the bill.

Why? It stands to cost the county millions. It threatens the already diminished presence of the arts, music and physical education in our schools. It would mean building a new school and hiring 50 more teachers when the school system -- like so many others -- is struggling to pay and retain the ones it has.

Frankly, it is a well-intentioned but not well-thought-out attempt at solving one issue that has, quite honestly, caused a series of other untenable issues.

All of this came up at a recent county commissioners' retreat which is what Dixon's letter is in reference to. And we get why he felt slighted by a couple of comments made at the retreat by Wayne County Manager Craig Honeycutt who said that the measure is indicative of how "some" lawmakers sometimes seek to pass "feel good" legislation without considering the ripple effect the measure might have down the road.

We also understand Honeycutt's frustration, which we assume led to his comments.

What we would like to see, and we are confident we will as we have so many times in the past -- consider Hurricane Matthew recovery funding for example -- is our local and state officials, elected and appointed, working together to iron out these difficult issues.

Ease as much as possible, gentlemen, the unintended suffering of the hardworking teachers and school administrators and the parents who don't have a choice in where they send their kids to school.

They are depending on you to get it right, not get your feelings hurt.

Published in Editorials on January 31, 2018 11:16 PM