[Sust-mar] South Shore school closures

[Tom Daly]

<http://www.southshorenow.ca/newsnow/newsnow201390.php>

And so, it is over.

The Ruling Class has given The Elected School Board their orders.   
Nothing left now but to wait for the official announcement on Wednesday.

In the end, Paul Bennett's dream- that community hub schools could be  
a solution to the problem-  was just that: a dream.  But then, it was  
never going to work anyways: there has never been- will never be- a  
problem that has a solution.  Problems have causes- and until the  
situation that causes the problem is changed, the problem will remain.

And the painful and inconvenient truth is the cause of the problem is  
us- the public, the citizens, the electorate.  We are wrong.  We have  
made a terrible mistake.

We believe that choosing willing and capable people to represent us is  
enough.  We believe that electing them to office empowers them to make  
decisions on our behalf.  We believe in Democracy.  And we are wrong.

This was never about "quality, equitable education within a healthy,  
safe and respectful environment"; it was never about "Kids and  
Learning First".  It's all about money- OUR money- who controls it,  
who gets it and- most importantly- who does not.

The Education Act was not written by those we elect, but by 'senior  
department staff'- some of the richest people in the province.

The Law they wrote (Eduction Act Section 64-3B) requires every School  
Board in the province to give our money to five more of the richest  
people in the province- these five are called 'Superintendent' and  
'Directors' of Programs and Student Services, Operational Services,  
Financial Services, and Human Resources Services.

The Law they wrote (Eduction Act Section 64-3C) requires every School  
Board to give them our money according to a “compa-ratio” based on a  
"performance guide chart" and "compensation grids".

But not according to the funds they allocate to the School Board.  The  
Superintendent and Directors pocket theirs first.  Everyone else gets  
cut.

In effect, The Education Act says 'No rich bureaucrat's wealth shall  
be affected by the budget cuts they make- only children and the  
communities in which they live shall be harmed'.

Everything else will be affected.  Programs will be cut.  Unemployment  
will be created.  No senior staff or Board member will spend hours  
every day with our kids on a school bus, pounding out their guts on  
what are called 'roads'.  The Superintendent and the Directors have  
instructed The Elected Board as to what their option is.  It will be  
approved by senior department staff "subject to this Act and the  
regulations".  And the 'decision-makers' are rewarded with an 'upward  
trajectory in their career path'.

Our money isn't available for what we want.  But they have millions to  
build shiny new big-box teaching factories!  Never mind that  
everywhere else on the planet has long since abandoned that paradigm  
as a disastrous failure: there are rich consultants, architects,  
contractors and specialists lined up at the trough of our money.   And  
rich important bureaucrats like hanging out with other rich important  
people.  The signs will read 'Creating good jobs and building our  
economy- one destroyed rural community at a time'.  And yes, they will  
use our money to make the signs as well.

Thursday evening our community will gather in our fire hall.  We will  
be joined by elected politicians and their campaigning wannabe-elected  
counterparts.  Each of them stood in School Review meetings "trying to  
make sure the 'keep the small school message' is received loud and  
clear".  Each of them will wring their hands in sorrow and compassion.  
None of them will admit that those we elect have no power whatsoever  
to do anything differently, even should they be appointed Minister.

None of them will admit that their 'party' will never challenge the  
authority of the Education Department bureaucrats, because doing so  
would mean they would have to admit that what is going on in Education  
is not an anomaly, but endemic throughout government.

No 'party' will admit that both the electorate and the elected have  
completely lost control of governance, that the entire  
policy-development and decision-making ecosystem in the province has  
been usurped by 'senior staff' who 'advise the Minister' on what  
decisions have been made, and write the briefing notes, the 'talking  
points', the script for the announcement to be read by the Minister.

No 'party' will admit that the political process has been degenerated  
to nothing more than a red-herring sideshow designed to draw our  
attention away from the assassination of Democracy- "Look at our  
different-coloured party hats, don't look at what's really going on."


Thank you, George Orwell- you were right.

Most Sincerely,

Tom Daly
99 Tannery Road
Petite Riviere
B4V 5X3
688 2883