These days, the mission of the Santa Barbara Unified School District
seems to be out with the old, in with the new, no matter what. And that
includes its recent rewriting of its Mission Statement that’s been around as
long as anyone can remember.
This comes on the heels of other questionable actions that include
dismissing or reassigning longtime personnel; closing the beloved and
innovative-since-1975 Open Alternative School; shutting down the once highly touted
Parent Resource Center, and spending nearly $40 million dollars on a new
Peabody Stadium with 500 fewer seats than the old one.
The adage, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it,” comes to mind — with
the exception of Peabody Stadium, which surely needed fixing, but not at quadruple
the original estimate.