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RFH 2010, Cover Stories, Opinion

Editorial: Dear Gov. Cuomo ...

Mon, Jul 11, 2011

Had you been at the recent Hall of Honor induction ceremony, you'd see HCS is not one of the schools you have to worry about ... and how small works.

Dear Gov. Cuomo:

You missed it, Governor.

Last Saturday you could have had the perfect opportunity to see why it is complete and utter nonsense to tamper with schools that aren't broken. Schools like Hamilton Central.

For two hours last Saturday, HCS celebrated its strengths and showcased its successes when it held its third annual induction ceremony for its Hall of Honor. You should have been there. So should have whomever is in charge of the State Education Department these days. And, the Board of Regents, especially Chancellor Merryl Tisch and James R. Tallon, Jr. the regent for Madison County.

Had you b een here, you would have seen that HCS -- small and rural as it is -- produced:

  • John Vincent Griffith, a college president;
  • Charles Getchonis, a man who taught children for 34 years and led the village as its mayor;
  • Dean W. Chapman, a minister who became a doctor at the age of 52;
  • Jeff Dinksi, an Emmy-winning TV reporter who started his own online business;
  • Kathleen "Katie" Mogelgaard, an international on population and climate change issues;
  • Paul Howes, a successful psychologist;
  • and Tim Noel, a man who has touched the lives of HCS students for dozens of years.

In the past, the Hall of Honor has added:

  • an NBA player turned team executive and philanthropist;
  • a principal horn player in the Philadelphia Orchestra;
  • a former U.S. attorney turned federal judge;
  • one of best high school basketball coaches in all of New York state;
  • and a list of successful educators and coaches.

Not bad for a small school you think ought to be subsumed by another, and a school and community you do not believe can make decisions about and manage its own finances.

Had you been here for the recent Hall of Honor induction, you would heard a long list of successful people explain how important it was to be educated in a small school and community where teachers and coaches are invested in the success of their students not because they are mandated to do by the state, but because they truly care. You would have heard how they became the people they are today because of how they were taught and coached as children; how people cared about them.

You and the regents ought to be concerned about the state of education in New York. There are a lot of schools that are failing their students and their communities. Too few kids are graduating, and many who do fail miserably in college, if they even get there.

Concentrate on them, and stop making life difficult for successful schools like HCS. If you don't want to listen to the Hall of Honor inductees say, listen to your own Education Department. The latest statistics show that the vast majority of kids are successful at HCS; most graduate and do well beyond high school. (And, by the way, stop jiggering around the standards to make things look worse than what they are.)

And, if your own Education Department isn't authoratative enough, check out what Newsweek said: it ranked HCS one of the 500 best high schools in the entire country.

New York State has a whole lot of problems. HCS is not one of them.

There is no need to fix that which is not broken ... even school children know that, Governor.

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Comments(3):

  1. Disagree with this editorial

    Monday, July 11, 2011 Adam

    I am afraid I have to disagree with this editorial. Hamilton is an anomaly in central New York. It does not represent most of the towns and villages here. It has an an influx of educated people and their children due to Colgate. It also benefits from financial windfalls from Colgate. Villages like Earlville, Sherburne, Brookfield, Smyrna, etc. do not receive these benefits, or to a much lesser degree. Towns further away (e.g. Norwich) do not feel any of these effects. To make the general statements about state policy in this region as this editorial does based on what Hamilton has accomplished, possibly harms the very real difficulties these communities face (that Hamilton has the resources to overcome). Hamilton does have some things to be very happy about, but these are benefits other communities are not given. They have to work hard to get what they can get and state policy should not be made to suit the needs of Hamilton, but the needs of the greater central New York region. -Adam Schoonmaker

  2. Agree with Mr. Hollis Dear Governor

    Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Susan

    While I agree with Mr. Schoonmaker's comment that Hamilton is an anomaly in Central NY, I whole heartedly agree with Dave Hollis' editorial to our Governor. I did attend the Hall of Honor ceremony at HCS on Saturday July 2nd and am the parent of a current student. Although there are no perfect solutions to most issues facing our state, or nation for that matter, to Mr. Hollis' point - "There is no need to fix that which is not broken". Imposing blanket solutions to all school districts that are uniquely different, is not a solution at all.

  3. editorial comment

    Thursday, July 21, 2011 Adam

    Unfortunately, state laws, like most laws, are "blanket" solutions. They address a perceived need, and are generally geared to doing the most good (when written with good intent, which is entirely arguable). I merely suggest that the generic laws that govern the state, regarding education, should be based on doing the most good for the most people. Hamilton, as an anomaly should not used as a model to represent the needs and difficulties of of the rest of the communities in our region. What this editorial really should be requesting is a flexible law, that allows school districts like Hamilton to continue the good work they are doing, but not to the detriment of the majority of other schools in the state. While my son also attends Hamilton Central, I don't believe that the state should craft a law to meet the needs of Hamilton, at the expense of Sherburne-Earlville, Brookfield, Norwich etc. Hamilton will probably do just fine. Other schools have much more serious problems that require attention. -Adam Schoonmaker