RODRICK REIDSMA / Salina Journal Forum moderators Mace Braxton (left) and Carla Strand listen to the board candidates Wednesday evening. Braxton is vice president of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce and Strand is vice president of the League of Women Voters.

By MICHAEL STRAND  Salina Journal

Though the Salina School Board candidates at Wednesday night's forum generally agreed on most subjects, there was usually one who didn't.

When it came to the federal No Child Left Behind law, it was incumbent Larry Michel who stood out. While the other candidates didn't like the law, they could at least find some good in it. Not Michel.

"In good faith, I can't tell you there's anything good about No Child Left Behind," Michel replied. "The only thing it's done is make us better at taking some test."

The six candidates -- Phil Black, William Discipio, Karen Guy and Mike Wilson, and incumbents Michel and Carol Brandert -- are vying for four open seats on the board. The election is Tuesday.

About 40 people attended the forum, sponsored by the Salina League of Women Voters and the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

Candidates were asked what was good about the federal No Child Left Behind law, which is designed to force schools to make a host of improvements.

Brandert noted that it has forced schools to focus on teaching methods and individual students, while Guy said there's "value in taking a snapshot" of how children are doing. Wilson agreed, saying it has forced schools to reach, and Black said he thinks "asking the question 'How do we know our children are learning?' is important."

Discipio, however, said the law is "political cover for the federal government ... they know a train wreck is coming."

Most said they would be against creating another class specifically to prepare students to take the ACT college entrance exam.

"Colleges are moving away from the notion that one number is the only thing a student brings to the table," Black said. "We need not just people who can solve math problems, but people who can solve problems with math."

Brandert, too, opposed such a class, saying some students preparing for college instead take the SAT. She noted that many teachers now provide after-school tutoring for the tests.

Guy also said there are plenty of resources outside of class to help students prepare, and added that colleges aren't putting as much weight on the test as they once did.

Michel and Wilson also opposed it, with Wilson pointing out the point of such a class "would be teaching to the test."

Discipio, however, thought such a class would be a good idea.

"Do we prepare our kids in junior high for high school -- yes," he said. "We need to do everything we can to prepare them for college."

All-day kindergarten

Regarding all-day kindergarten, it was Wilson's turn to be the lone voice.

"I'm against it," Wilson said. "A 5-year-old child is too young to be in such a structured environment all day."

He added that the idea of all-day kindergarten implies parents aren't responsible enough to teach their children what they need to know.

Many students now entering kindergarten "have not advanced beyond the level of the average 3-year-old," Brandert said, explaining that all-day kindergarten would help those students catch up.

"The sooner we start the better," agreed Discipio. But he also urged parents to "not rely on schools ... give them extra homework. I know it will be a fight, but you have to do it."

Guy, Michel and Black all said they supported all-day kindergarten, though Michel said he would like to see it as an option, rather than mandatory.

Candidates also agreed that there's a danger that the provisions of No Child Left Behind would put so much focus on children at the bottom that top students wouldn't be pushed to their full potential -- but that it wasn't happening in Salina.

"Instead of No Child Left Behind, wouldn't it be great if we had "Every Child Moving Forward," Guy said, adding she would support more advanced-placement classes.

"I think our district has done a very good job of trying to avoid that (ignoring top students)," Michel said, crediting fellow board member Ruth Cathcart-Rake with keeping that a priority.

Wilson said he was worried about it, but said there are lots of advanced classes available to high school students.

"I don't think we want to dumb down," Brandert said, adding she thinks it's important to "support all students, regardless of ability."

Discipio suggested abandoning the federal mandate, and the money that comes with it. He acknowledged he was veering off-topic when he said Intelligent Design would dumb-down students and is not just an attack on evolution, but "an attack on the scientific method."

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