One thing I’ve learned in more than 30 years in this business is that’s there’s always another side to the story.
That doesn’t mean anyone wants to hear it, especially when it doesn’t align with their beliefs.
Lou DeVlieger is not a particularly popular guy in Upper Darby these days. He’s the superintendent of Upper Darby schools and lording over a plan to fire a bunch of teachers, hike taxes and change the curriculum to move what was always “special” instruction and classes in music and the arts into regular elementary classrooms.
It’s caused seismic controversy in the community, among parents and educators, since the plan was rolled out a couple of weeks ago.
Certainly this newspaper has been paying very close attention to the issue. We had a panel of parents on our ‘Live From the Newsroom’ show in which they laid out their opposition and urged administrators – including DeVlieger to change their minds. Nearly 80 people spoke at a school board meeting.
I wanted to offer DeVlieger and his team an equal opportunity to offer their side.
Not many people are interested in hearing it.
I have now been accused of taking a “kickback” from the school board after writing a couple of blog items. I can only imagine what kind of reaction my print column will spark today.
During the show, DeVlieger made a couple of things pretty clear. There were alternatives considered to this plan, and he’s still open to hearing other ideas.
Parents aren’t convinced. Very simply, they don’t believe DeVlieger and think this plan is being rammed down their throats.
In the meantime, we’ll be back with another panel to talk about the issue Wednesday night. I'll have more on that and some special comments from a person close to this issue in the blog tomorrow.
I’m certain of only one thing. This isn’t going away, and it is going to continue to cause an uproar in Upper Darby. We intend to cover every bit of it.
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