January 2022, Jefferson Davis Parish, rural Southwest Louisiana. The funeral services for both the principal of the parish seat's high school and its football head coach are held virtually, because of public health guidelines that forced the local church to hold the funeral virtually. The eulogy begins as the town's residents tune in online because of pandemic restrictions:
"Here we are today to mourn the death of two major figures in our community" the church's priest tells in front of a camera manned by a wedding planner. "Our local high school principal, Robert Mayer, as well as its football head coach, Carlos Martinez, both died in the past few days of COVID-19"
The priest then goes on to list what they accomplished in life, what they brought to the local community, and so on, so forth. Exactly what legacy did these two leave our town? Our school needs some educational improvements and the time has come for us to get what the town deserves. Far too much money has been wasted at school in the pursuit of sports excellence, especially football, and this is the golden opportunity to make the cuts to sports and back into academics and academic activities! Now, if only I could become the new principal and then sell athletic reforms to the public! Glen, an assistant principal, then muses upon watching the funeral rites of his boss. Around the family table with the wife and children, crying over the death of his boss.
"My boss was a pillar of this town for over thirty years as a high school principal. He was due to retire any time soon" Glen explains to his family, while he is shopping for items to give to Robert's family.
"I heard the football coach has died, too. How are we going to replace a coach like Carlos?" Selena, Glen's wife, asks the family. "Our parish can't afford to pay for anyone like him. On the other hand, a principal is a necessity"
"The parish prefers to hire internally for the position of principal so I may as well apply for it" Glen then opines about football. "I think that we spend too much on high school sports as a parish"
"Suppose that you cut the athletic department budget. What would you use the money for?" Dexter, the middle child of the family, asks his father.
"Replace some outdated textbooks, provide additional funds to actually make the debate team happen, buy additional teaching materials where we need it most. We just waste a lot of money on sports such as football. It's not like our kids regularly get athletic scholarships here"
The pandemic did a number on the school's athletic teams, and they aren't as good as they used to be, so, in Glen's mind, there's no better time to gut the athletic department. Meaningful reform could never take place with the old, crusty Robert at the helm. Overemphasizing sports as he did would lead our kids to disaster in the long run, whereas living with high academic achievement in a gender-neutral way would not, Glen muses while he wonders how he could nurture the academic excellence he needs for his vision to come to fruition. But there's one glaring hole: girls in STEM. Let's not kid ourselves: we won't become, like, Benjamin-Franklin or Isidore Newman overnight in terms of achievement. It would be dangerous for the students if, in an attempt to improve, the school becomes a pressure cooker like these sorts of institutions.
As soon as the opening for the parish seat's high school principal position is posted on the parish school board's intranet, Glen prepares his candidacy for it, as do a couple of the assistant principals at all of the parish's high schools. Of which there just isn't a whole lot. The other assistant principals of the parish's high schools all seemed to be in these positions because they feel obligated to take up the mantle. After all, K-12 educators were often not careerists.
"You can always present the cuts as simply an attempt to reduce waste or fighting corruption" Jonah, the oldest child of the family comments, back home for the holidays.
"And you can always blame the pandemic if things go wrong" Valerie, the youngest child, still in middle school, adds.
"I hope you realize that the school or parish doesn't have the resources to expand extracurricular offerings beyond a certain point. Band and theater must be considered" Selena adds a consideration.
"You say you want to open the debate team but how many people want to play on it?" Dexter asks his father. "I know only Florence and myself who would want to play"
"Enough to make it worth doing, but not enough to drain the budget" Glen answers his son's question.
From what I have seen elsewhere in the state, debate teams often draw people who are smart enough for college, but primarily play so they can attend college. I guess, better this than what we have now! Speaking of college, most college-bound kids tend to stay in-state, LSU and Louisiana Tech for the honor students, maybe New Orleans, UL-Lafayette or McNeese State for the less ambitious, and I can count on one hand the students who aim higher in any given class, Glen then muses about the student body's situation.
The superintendent of the parish school board prepares to post a job listing for the assistant principal position, to go live as soon as the principal position is filled. Just before Glen's gets his interview for the principal position.
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Venomous Agenda Memoirs
Teen FictionGlen, an assistant principal in a rural southwest Louisiana high school, takes up the mantle of the principal of that high school when the previous principal died, alongside the school's football coach, of COVID-19. He inherited a school with its lo...
