The types of schools our children need and deserve

For me, the majority of the 2011-2012 school year has been spent thinking about, working on, and preparing for, the beginning of the academic cooperative. I knew when I applied for and accepted the superintendent position for the Lind and Ritzville school districts that this would be the case. I also understood that this process would require me to make many difficult decisions and that there would be some discomfort in both communities and districts.

Although the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year will undoubtedly bring additional structural decisions related to the academic cooperative,...