It held a parent forum. Most of those who showed up and spoke said they oppose paddling. They don't want the council to ask the county school board for a waiver to allow paddling as a disciplinary option. That's not the first time conservative values have come into conflict with local control. Take, for example, high standards and accountability.
Conservatives insist on both.
They want lots of testing, to make schools and teachers answerable. Some 91 percent of Scarsdale kids already pass the statewide eighth grade exams in English, math, science and social studies. From their perspective, the national school reform movement was never really meant for their children. And skipping state tests would give schools more time to focus on the exams that concern parents more, the SATs and Advanced Placement Tests high school students need to ace, to compete for acceptance to competitive colleges. Levy proposed privatizing five failing schools, an approach that makes hearts sing at the Heritage Foundation.