MY TURN: Support Coeur d'Alene schools

Hello fellow residents of Coeur d'Alene,

I have to admit, I wasn't always a supporter of public school funding. I approached the topic with skepticism, firmly believing that school districts were overfunded and wasteful, especially on the administrative side.

This perspective began to change when I worked in the public schools in Anchorage, Alaska. Initially, I wasn’t even sure about my career choice. I genuinely believed I might be one of the few teachers that actually cared about my work. To my surprise, I discovered a culture of sacrifice and dedication. Nearly all of the teachers, aides and administrators I worked with gave so much, because they cared about the kids. Very few were there for an “easy” paycheck.

I experienced firsthand the true enormity of the task of preparing future generations for success. The responsibility, it turns out, extends well beyond academics, influencing many aspects of a child's development and well-being. It takes a village, anyone? I witnessed this institution do so much with relative little.

As our family grew, it became clear that a continued career in education was not financially sustainable for us. Thankfully, I was able to find a path forward self-employed (in the field of education). Over the years since, I’ve thought often about whether working in public schools would be an option again.

My wife was raised here in Coeur d'Alene and wanted to return to be closer to family. So we moved. I knew it would be a blessing for us to live in a community with strong values and principled people. However, when we arrived, we were shocked by the general lack of support for schools. It was bottom-of-the-barrel funding. To make matters worse, we noticed a surprising level of hostility toward the public institution that surely made individual teachers in the community feel unappreciated.

And we found it wasn’t just the teachers who were struggling. I remember speaking with a school administrator who had taken on multiple odd jobs to support their family. The work they do for the school is highly skilled, stressful and requires a master's degree or more! I thought our community was keenly aware of the relatively high cost of living here, but apparently not! How can we ask trained professionals to serve the public good without offering a respectable wage? People like this administrator somehow stay committed to their mission.

The final shift in my thinking came when my wife and I adopted a child with special needs. I saw firsthand how challenging it is for school staff to adequately support kids like ours. Despite their passion and professionalism, they are limited by a lack of funding and community support (and squeezed by federal law which requires specific services regardless of funding). It's heartbreaking to witness, especially knowing that when we fail to fund our schools, it’s the poorest families and families with children with disabilities who suffer the most. Here, the role of the school is more critical than ever.

I fought through years of cognitive dissonance and learned some difficult lessons. Now, I support Coeur d'Alene schools without all the skepticism. This change wasn't driven by a grand political shift, but by a slow awakening to the gravity and complexity of the situation. Our teachers, aides and administrators aren't run-of-the-mill members of our “village.” In fact, they are some of the best professional educators I've met. We need to be both practical and decent. Let’s provide Coeur d'Alene’s children the resources they truly need and give the professionals, who stay committed to them regardless, the backing they deserve.

• • •

Paul Sarafin is a fellow Coeur d'Alene parent and taxpayer.