Rebuttal
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Kudos and credits to the parents and financial supporters, both
individuals and corporate giants, who helped to see that Sage Hill School
became a reality for our coastal community this school year.
The Daily Pilot’s article on Sage Hill (“School bell set to ring at
Sage Hill,” Sept. 4) could be viewed as a catalyst in [widening] the gap
between public education and private education. Or it could lead to
positive reflection by private school supporters and those of us who
believe in the essence of public education and what it offers.
There were plenty of lines devoted to the glitz of Sage Hill versus
the drab of public schools in the Newport-Mesa school district, including
mention of pristine classrooms versus buckled sidewalks and leaky
classrooms; new books in spotless lockers versus graffiti-laden public
school lockers; small class sizes and personal instruction versus the
[perception of] overcrowded conditions with public school teachers not
being able to give one-on-one instruction; Sage Hill’s dedication to
community service during block summer days versus daily hours of
community service at times prescribed by public education; and so on.
Plus, Sage Hill comes with a tab of $30 million and growing versus our
public schools having to go to the voters to raise $163 million [$110
million locally and $53 million in state matching funds] for needed
repairs at 25-plus schools.
Needless to say, there was a lot to create a gap and possible
resentment or envy. But, in reality, Sage Hill is perfect for our
community and a needed asset.
Sage Hill is nothing more than a graduation of the benefits of private
school education enjoyed by many families who select this option. Harbor
Day School in Newport Beach is the first step for many on this course to
Sage Hill, as is Carden Hall and other private schools.
Having enjoyed wonderful early years at Harbor Day School with two of
our children and then finally moving all four to public schools gave my
wife and I a good dose of both. Financially, we could never afford four
kids’ tuition at Harbor Day School, and Sage Hill’s $14,000 tuition would
never be doable with four kids, let alone one. But for many in our
community, these tabs are light and the option ... is there for the
taking.
Sage Hill is a classic motivational tool for public school supporters
to rally. My wife and I, after long deliberations, now support the bond
passed by fellow voters. We believe in public education for many of the
opposite reasons cited by one Sage Hills parent.
Eventually, Sage Hill students and public school students will meet in
college, which will cause the very differently educated students to share
their experiences. Sage Hill kids will have a bit more depth on general
subjects of knowledge, while public school kids will have far more
experience in life struggles.
In CIF-sanctioned athletics, Sage Hill kids will be able to invite
their public school friends to visit and train on pristine athletic
fields with the best of the best equipment available while public school
kids will forever invite their Sage Hill athletic friends to Friday and
Saturday night games at Davidson Field for Newport Harbor and Corona del
Mar.
Parents have a duty to set a general course for their family and their
kids’ future. Sage Hill parents are, without a single doubt, setting
their kids on a course for the finest in education. Sage Hill’s parents
are giving their children the safest of all environs. which public
schools cannot match because of campus designs and quite simply because
of the number of cultures than inherently and unfortunately clash in
public places.
Sage Hill parents and kids will enjoy a trouble-free education
atmosphere, with teachers having more authority, greater leeway in
setting curriculum and better compensation. Sage Hill parents will pay
for these benefits because they can.
Sage Hill parents will continue to share their wealth with all of us
because they are a part of our tax system, school bond family and remain
a serious block of voters who do not miss a chance to vote for our
elected leaders and laws. This is good.
Public school parents and kids share equally in the giving of assets.
Public school kids will receive their basic education and have a great
opportunity from self-motivation, a personal asset that will come in
handy in the future.
Athletically, of which this family places equal weight to that of
scholastics, Newport-Mesa students will far exceed Sage Hill’s players
because the school is no Mater Dei High or Santa Margarita High. Sage
Hill has no religious pillars; instead a hybrid of public education with
a big tab and value-laden bill of learning. Mater Dei and Santa Margarita
excel in sports because of their religious span to all cultures, income
levels and recruiting prowess.
The public school parent who sets a course of athletics for their kids
will face with Sage Hill’s parents a dilemma at some point: either go
with a winner such as Newport Harbor in football, for example, or make
the trek to Mater Dei or Santa Margarita to give their child what is
perceived to be higher rung of athletic learning. This is where Sage
Hill parents and public school parents do mirror each other.
We, as a family, face this issue in less than a year and remain
thankful that Sage Hill, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita have viable
competition from public schools, such as Newport Harbor in education,
sports and cultural blending. But if we were to win the lottery, the
choice for our sports- and scholastic-driven children would still remain
with public schools.
It is a blessing that Sage Hill kids and public school kids will unite
in the future. Choice breeds new thought. Experiences from Sage Hill’s
financial elite will be a gift to those with less financial power, just
as our public school kids will lend a great deal of human wealth to their
Sage Hill brothers and sisters in future decades.
BRIAN THERIOT
Costa Mesa
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