Evening star., 1951-10-07
What's Wrong in Falls Church?

What's Wrong in Falls Church,
The Falls Church school row is not teapot
tempest. 1t Is a serious situation which should
be recognized as such. and treated accordingly
by all who are seriously interested in doing what
is best for the city's public school system.
There are those who think that the dispute
has passed the point of reconciliation. This is
hard to believe and should not be true For the
principal actors in the controversy are intelli-
gent well-intentioned people. They are genu-
inely interested in good schools. If all of the
parties will think in terms of what best serves
the interests of the schools and will put sec
ondary considerations in proper perspective, it
should be quite possible to resolve outstanding
differences in a satisfactory manner
Three aspects of the problem are of primary
Importance
The role of the School Board is one of these
No useful purpose can be served here by rehash-
ing the complaints and the counter-complaints
involving the board, or by attempting to appraise
their respective merits That is the responsibility
of the City Council.
OF course the School Board has made mis-
takes. So will any such board. What critics
tend to overlook is that the mistakes have been
made in the course of long, arduous and sincere
effort to build flrst-class school system. Those
who have lived in Falls Church know that over
the years it has been very difficult to persuade
able people to take the thankless job of serving
on the School Board and to make the very
considerable personal sacrifices that such service
entails. This is something that should be kept
in mind while the present board is under attack.
But the board members also have a RESPONSE
bility They feel they are being harassed by the
City Council and by their citizen-critics. There
have been reports that the members are con-
sidering resigning in body, and they may have
done so before this is published. To resign,
however, would be to shrk responsibility The
school building program has reached critical
stage How can the board. members, in good
conscience, put on their hats and go home before
they even know what kind of a report the
Council will return on the complaints that have
been made? When the board members accepted
appointment, they must have anticipated that
there would be criticism, some of it unfair That
is unavoidable. If they are thinking of what is
best for the school system, they will stick to
their guns. The time to consider designations
is after-not before-the last reasonable posi-
bihty of reconciliation has been exhausted.
Another aspect concerns the teachers Un-
fortunately, the schools became an issue in last
is, in part, hangover from that. But schools
and teachers should not become involved in
partisan disputes. When that happens the
schools, in the long rum very likely to suffer,
Teachers, however, do have real and a legiti-
mate interest in a dispute of this kind It Is
always possible that their professional status
and their professional interests may suffer The
trouble in this instance is that the teachers
have assumed that this is going to happen in
Falls Church, and their morale has been i'm
paired accordingly. This cannot possibly serve
constructive purpose 1t would seem wiser
for the teachers to refrain from jumping to
conclusions and to await developments.
The third and perhaps the most important
aspect has to do with the City Council It's
members were overwhelmingly elected last sum-
mer after a bitter contest 1t is their RESPONSE
bility to govern the community while in office
They should not and certainly will not yield
to pressure from any element And any attempt
to coerce the Council with pressure tactics will
be Self-defeating.
At the same time, the Council has duty
to discharge it's responsibilities with wisdom. If
there is a temptation, growing out of the election
campaign, to rap the School Board; it should be
resisted. The charges have been made and the
testimony has been heard. The Council can do
now to prepare scrupulously fair report based
on the facts and do this in spirit of willingness
to recognize the good work that the School
Board has done.
There is perhaps one more thing that might
help. This dispute has sharply divided the
people of Falls Church Yet the great majority,
on both sides, really want good schools. They
are not apt to get them, however, If they are
going to believe any and every complaint against
the School Board without regard to supporting
evidence Neither are they likely to get them
if they are going to swallow nonsensical but
slippery suggestions to the effect that criticism
of the School Board appears to parallel a ma
tional movement of a most sinister character !"
The people of Falls Church should remember
that they are the ones with the biggest stake
in this matter. For better or worse, it is the
future of their schools and their children that
is involved Their objective should be settle
ment of this dispute that is fair to all concerned
If that is reached, then the old hatchets should
be buried in common purpose to work for the
excellent school system that the community
should have and can&have.