From Washington, D.C., to Washington state, it is TIME FOR CHANGE. The dismal news that all three middle schools in the Renton School District failed to meet the adequate yearly progress (AYP) standard sends a strong message that our children are in deep trouble and we ‘‘cannot afford to wait.” This is a recurring problem in the District which has not been fixed.

Terry Bergeson, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is running for her fourth term; Mary Alice Heuschel, superintendent of the Renton School District (previously an employee of OSPI), was recently given high marks by the Board of Directors and rewarded with a new contract (her third); and longtime Renton School District Board member, Marcie Maxwell, is running for state representative.

All these “leaders” of our youth are engaged in furthering their careers, but none are taking responsibility for the disturbing report that all the middle schools in the district failed. Predictably, feeble excuses and passing the buck is the order of the day and the blame is laid at the feet of poverty, language problems and, of all things, “higher standard requirements.” The eternal “gap” just gets wider and wider and many students continue to fall and fail.

This time there is a ray of hope – the upcoming elections. It is time to vote “no” for Terry Bergeson; “no” for Marcie Maxwell to the legislature when all the middle schools under her jurisdiction are failing; we can petition to remove Mary Alice Heuschel as the district superintendent. We should be outraged enough to hold “real people” accountable for the deplorable condition of our educational system. Our children deserve a first-rate, state-of-the art, quality education to compete in today’s high-tech environment. We need leaders who can lead a diverse, multicultural, student body from every walk and background, every class and culture. What we don’t need are tired, expired excuses and the folk who stand behind them.

Beatrice Clark

Renton