You have to be cruel to be kind about the Park City School District

Most of us who live in Park City love the Park City School District. We have great teachers. We have great administrators at our schools. We have great kids who attend those schools.

I am often asked why I am so hard on the school district. When I ran for school board, the head of Summit County’s Republican Party questioned my temperament because, to him, my criticism seemed over the top. That tells you something.

Yet, here’s the thing. I support our schools. I voted for the bond that is paying for 2/3 of our school improvements. I am a taxpayer who is likley paying for the other third that is supposed to be covered by lease revenue bonds. I have a kid in the school district. So I want — no, I NEED the school district to succeed.

And that’s it.

So, back to the question of why I am so hard on our schools. Three reasons.

1. We are a small and wealthy school district. We have 7 schools. We have a lot of tax dollars. The Ed Foundation covers so many of our expenses through donations. Financially, we so many advantages. We have so much potential. We shouldn’t squander that.
2. Trust. Many educators don’t trust the district. Many parents don’t trust the district. The district continually gives people reasons not to trust it.