No politician left behind

Douglas County has always taken the requirements under federal No Child Left Behind seriously.

It has been a point of pride that when called on, our county's schools have done their best to meet or exceed the federal requirements.

But we've always had an issue with a federal government that feels it knows better than we do how to educate our children.

While Douglas is doing a good job of meeting the requirements, the fact is, those requirements are determined 2,600 miles away in Washington, D.C.

We've always felt that government closest to the people is best and that educating our children is too important to be left to congressional compromise and presidential fiat.

Are the requirements reasonable? Possibly.

But who can say what the future will bring? If those on one side of the spectrum are satisfied with what is happening now, what will they think should the pendulum swing the other way?

The requirements of No Child Left Behind hopefully set a minimum mark for our schools.

However, we need to be constantly vigilant of federal legislation that alters the law.

Politicians are fickle headmasters and require at least as much scrutiny as the schools they purport to oversee.