"You need me so that you can say "There's the bad guy." — Tony Montana, Scarface
The Daily Breeze makes sport of Centinela Valley, a convenient little drama of School District dysfunction, and easy target for trashing political intrigue, economic waste, student-teacher conflict, betrayal, and a host of other issues which belong on the stage, but not in the classroom.
The undercurrent fraud in the midst of all this voyeuristic exposure is:
"Centinela Valley, what a pretty ugly, dysfunctional wreck." Like a traffic accident or the Kramer of Seinfeld, it is hideous and loathsome, yet I cannot look away.
I submit, however, that this district, certainly struggling with allegations of merit, is not alone in the dysfunction and outright incompetence seemingly endemic to public school education.
Because of the growing encroachment of the state, Centinela Valley's flaws are more pronounced, more "newsworthy" if you will, yet they are hardly unique.
From the chronic budgetary shortfalls and mismanagement of Torrance Unified, to the front-page ouster of an excellent teacher in Redondo Beach, to the near-bankruptcy of the Hermosa Beach City School District, the endemic folly of bureaucratic governance masquerading as preparation for the future is unmistakable.
Student apathy, teacher frustration, administrative disconnect, and parental over- or under-involvement are inescapable in local school districts.