By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – June 22, 2021 It is amazing at times when the planning for educational spending for the up coming fall and into the future takes on the appearance of everything but educational in nature. We have already been regaled with "new" scheduling for the fall in the form of recycled ninety minute blocks at Del Norte High School. Must have been enough time passing since the last time this tried and true failure was implemented in the local public high school. Some how students are expected to get comprehensive and focused learning in less time all the while earning more credits. Except of course, if the student is not successful, then the "new" schedule stands ready to do it all over again in the following session. Some way, in the middle of all this schedule tinkering there is time to get tutored, take one or more electives, and deal with all the returning student's social and emotional baggage. Looks like that's where the English and math tutor comes in, as well as, IEP's, and specialized academic instruction. Naturally, if the high school gets to ride in the proverbial cement mixer, so must four of the City's elementary schools. Plans are currently in the works to convert Pine Grove, Bess Maxwell, Joe Hamilton, and Mary Peacock into pairs, one pair for Kinder through second grade, with the other two, third through fifth grade. Naturally because grades k thru 2 and 3 thru 5 have differing architectural needs, thousands of dollars must be spent attending to those needs. Lest we forget, kinder classes would need bathrooms, and the differing needs for materials and supplies, technology and furniture would require a whole host of further expenditures. Yet further consideration must be made for library technicians, counseling technicians, more counselors, and another psychologist. There seems to be something missing in all of this whirlwind, oh yes, the educational desert that students continue to face does not seem to be addressed. But the good news does not end there. The local school administration continues to delight with millions of dollars to be expended in Local Accountability Plan Funding (LACP) over the coming year 2021-2022. Once again the plan seems laser focused on "safety", masks could still be required in the student population which has had very little issue with the Covid-19 pandemic. And, there is clearly an obsession with low income students, foster and the homeless youth, and English language learners. This assumes that all other students are clearly successful even though results say otherwise. The district's answer to all of this planning is to "hire more teachers", a full time English language development teacher, and an ELD program coordinator is in the works. The remaining hires "to lighten the load" consist of three full-time substitute teachers, a full-time music teacher, and some new library technicians. If the intent is to reduce teaching loads, maybe a few more teachers could be added to the mix, but that part is noticeably absent. The carnage continues with the afore mentioned increases in counseling and psychologists hires. After all the local school district must be able to "navigate" what will be a social and emotional tsunami of feelings once students return to campus, heaven forbid the district should be focused on any thing other after an eighteen month desert of education students experienced. One continues to be amazed by all the hard work administration at the Del Norte Unified School District Offices put in to result in a great deal of money to be spent, yet no evidence it has any hope of success. Surely the brightest and best of us, with for many of them their six figure salaries, there is some hope of focus by the public schools on some measure of "educational success" rather than the lackluster performance that is currently on full display by local public schools. The question could be asked, how could public education reach the depths of mediocrity so fast, but the answer is that its an on going problem begun decades ago.