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( DN- )
There has been a lot about public education in the news recently, from the local to the national level. One might think that it was an important item and a lot is being done to support and improve it.

In Los Molinos there is a public gunfight about what would normally be a private matter between the school and a student and the student's family over dress code for the elementary school. On the one hand the family is claiming the code isn't fair, while on the other the school is saying its dress code is important. We had a similar argument within our family when our daughter asked when she could start wearing lipstick, but we didn't air our disagreement in public, even though we were not being "fair".

Locally, as well, the usual miscommunications surfaced in the Red Bluff Elementary District; I say usual because miscommunication is a normal occurrence during labor negotiations when there is no easy solution to the basic fiscal problems caused by the state's ineptitude. These kinds of miscommunications often make it more difficult to focus on solving the real problems the district faces, and they have the potential to become personal which complicates the normal relationships that must resume after bargaining is over.

I noticed that Red Bluff High School will not be offering summer school this year because the district cannot afford it. Funding for summer school has varied over the last three decades, and so has the requirement for summer school content. When we first came to town the high school offered Latin in the summer, and several students from Mercy High School attended because that school had dropped that language because of cost.

The compaction of the curriculum and elimination of summer school means that parents and students will need to take more responsibility for student progress. This may be a positive development. Students who are behind can play some catch up at home this summer.