Things just aren’t fair. Not in this state or anywhere else in the world.
If a kid is born in a certain part of this state his or her chances of growing up with vast opportunities for life success are very high. If a kid is born in another part of this state his or her chances of growing up with great opportunities are much, much less. That’s the way the world works even if it is not fair. A child doesn’t get to choose where he or she is born.
For example, the Fayetteville High School band recently traveled to New York and Philadelphia during Thanksgiving break.
They traveled in four tour buses, their meals were planned in advance, nice hotels chosen and chaperons provided. They marched in the Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia. While in New York City the wind ensembleperformed at Carnegie Hall.
(How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!) They were due back at the Fayetteville campus at 2:57 p.m. At exactly 2:57 all four busses rolled into the parking lot where parents were waiting. Not a single glitch during the entire trip. What an incredible experience for a growing student. Can you imagine performing in Carnegie Hall?
What a memory.
Do all kids in this state get to go to New York City and play in Carnegie Hall?
No. A kid is very fortunate to be born in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers orBentonville as opposed to a small town in the delta where opportunities are far more limited. Northwest Arkansas is blessed with giant profitable companies like Walmart, J.B. Hunt, Tyson Foods and others. People are working, paying taxes, which means money flows into public schools.
Each of the school districts in the cities mentioned above have the highest paid superintendents in the state.
They are the highest paid because they are considered the best. They in turn create the finest curriculums in state schools and hire the best staff and teachers. They can hire the best because they have the money to pay the highest salaries. That doesn’t happen everywhere in this state.
In the area of athletic opportunities we look no further than the big four schools. Bentonville and Fayetteville have dominated high school football thesepast few seasons. Fayetteville defeated Bentonville in the championship game on Dec. 3. They both ranked nationally. Their head coaches are among the highest paid in the state because those coaches have proven to be among the very best. If you have a young boy or girl who is athletically gifted where would you want them to go to school?
Where will they get the best opportunity to achieve greatest success? Fayetteville or Wicks?
Allow me to brag once again about my hometown of Greenwood. The Bulldogs just won their sixth straight 5A State Football Championship. How does that happen? Coincidence?
We think not.
Let’s start with their tax base. The city is blessed with a gigantic school district. Rye Hill, just south of the Fort Smith city limit became a popular suburbancommunity some 25 years ago. There are hundreds of homes in the Rye Hill area where parents travel five minutes to Fort Smith to work. The property tax goes to Greenwood schools, and their children enroll in Greenwood.
Kay Bridges Johnson, district superintendent, is a Greenwood graduate who played basketball as a schoolgirl. She is devoted to the sports programs in the school system.
She hired Rick Jones as head football coach after he had proven very successful in football-crazy Broken Arrow, Okla. He then hired the best assistants money could buy. The school built an indoor practice facility including a weight room similar to the Razorback indoor facility. The stadium contains the most expensive artificial surface money can buy.
After the phenomenalsuccess of Tyler Wilson every sixth-grade boy can’t wait to become a part of the seventh-grade football program. The players will learn the exact same formations and schemes at every level from the seventhgrade to senior year.
The townspeople, the school board, the parents, the teachers and the superintendent are of one mind when it comes to athletic opportunities for the students. And it has paid off big time. That doesn’t happen everywhere in this state.
Some areas of our state are blessed with far more opportunity than other areas. It’s not fair but it is reality.
It’s the job of state and local government to level the playing field. We want every kid to play in Carnegie Hall.
GRADY JIM ROBINSON IS A RETIRED PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER AND FREELANCE COLUMNIST.
Opinion, Pages 15 on 12/18/2011