It is quite astonishing that a man, believed to have lived in the sixth century, a Greek named Aesop, told oral fables that were passed on for generations, put into writing centuries later and are still read throughout the world to this day. That was an amazing feat for a man tradition tells us was a slave.
One of Aesop’s most famous fables was the Goose That Laid The Golden Egg. As the fable goes, a man and his wife had a goose (some versions of the story describe it as a hen) that laid a golden egg each day. The man and his wife were convinced the goose had a large amount of gold inside to produce those eggs. They killed the goose only to find no gold within the body. The couple’s get-rich-quick scheme of antiquity not only did not work, it robbed them of the golden eggs they had been receiving every day.
Why do I bring up an Aesop fable at this time? Because it has something important to say to those of us living in Fishers and the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District. We have an institution that is good as gold and killing it would be a big mistake.
I have been reporting news in Fishers for more than nine years and have lived here for 30 years. I can tell you that elected officials, economic development specialists and leaders in the private sector will generally agree on this – the enormous growth in the City of Fishers is largely because of the high reputation of the HSE Schools. It is not the only factor, but without a public school district with a first-class standing, the growth at the level we have seen in the past 30 years would not have been possible.
My twin daughters attended HSE Schools K-12. The education they both received prepared them well for the post-secondary world and both are now college graduates. A strong local public school system did my family well.
There are some serious debates going on locally about HSE Schools. I have always believed a healthy debate is a good thing in a pluralistic, democratic society. In most instances, it provides better outcomes in the end.
However, I am troubled by the tone of some social media postings lately. I have just returned from a week-long out-of-town trip, but discovered reports of signs popping up in the HSE district saying “Defund HSE Schools.” I have not seen any of those signs yet, but based on a number of social media postings, it appears they have been around.
Again, everyone is entitled their own views, but a “Defund HSE” campaign troubles me. It does not respect the hard-working teachers and other staff members wrapping up what can only be described as a massively stressful pandemic school year of online and in-person classes. From everything I have seen, and from the teachers I know, they have all been stretched to the limit in educating our students this school year.
I suspect the Defund HSE signs are a precursor to an operating referendum that will be needed at some point in the near future, possibly in May of 2023, to continue the staffing levels and compensation for HSE’s workers. In the past two referenda I have covered, small groups of people posted signs literally on the day of the referendum election or a day before opposing the district’s ballot measure. In both cases, the referendum was approved by a wide margin of voters.
Perhaps those planning to oppose the referendum, whatever the specific language will be, are already organizing. I would hope not.
The current debates around curriculum are interesting, and the subject of a recent James Briggs commentary in the Indianapolis Star (you must be a subscriber to access the link).
If we have a healthy debate, and decisions are made by our elected officials, we need to stand behind our local educators for the sake of our community, now and in the future.
Failure to do so means we may be killing the Goose That Laid The Golden Egg. As Aesop tells us, that does not end well.
