Who dares condemn the obvious truth of ancient proverbs? There can be no doubt that experience is the best teacher or that numbers don’t lie (though we’ll never know the sound of one hand clapping). Judging by past decisions, Chico Unified School District (CUSD) places as much trust in these timeless idioms as the United States government, using the criteria of experience and age as the guiding light in all evaluations. But in such practical application, these words of wisdom don’t seem so wise after all, just illogical.

Since its first statement, CUSD’s budget crisis has been a local hot topic of controversy, anger and stress. Two million dollars in the hole, CUSD opted to cut. Because employee wages account for 90% of the CUSD expenditure, it was predictable that teachers would be the first on the chopping block. Putting aside the whole absurdity of cutting underpaid educators, the question of who to cut arose.

Thus began the battle of time and numbers.

Senior teachers with tenure were handed lifesavers and rescued quickly by the hovering helicopter of recalled Reduction In Force notices. New teachers began packing for their trail of tears. Elective teachers pulled out their hair (or what’s left of it) as pink slips and blues poured down like rain. The fabled ax wavered menacingly to all those without 35 signed up for their classes and teachers groveled for students to pick Class Y over Class Q.

Throughout all this turmoil and silent combat, CUSD has taken everything into account except the vitals. Years of teaching, teaching credentials, flexibility with an array of subjects, popularity of taught classes, etc. were all part of the complex equation that determined the final cuts. However, the essential, the basis of teaching was ignored: competency.

Unfortunately, determining the quality of teaching does not rely solely on numbers or experience.

The district seems to take the credibility of timeless proverbs for granted. By no account are all new teachers green and inept. If more than 70 students sign up for a class, it does not comment on the abilities of Mr. X.

Rather than letting head counts speak for how well a teacher completes his/her job, simple evaluations and requested feedback from parents and students are much better marks of competency.

Some may argue that teacher competency is not nearly as important as class value or student desires. But the point of education lies in the quality of learning. With an incompetent teacher but high demand, students learn nothing and their initial thirsts for knowledge cannot be quenched. In the end, it is a choice between inferior learning for the masses and superior learning for a handful. Give us knowledge or give us death (or at least study hall).

The request is simple: potential over experience, assessment over numbers. While experience is a good teacher, it doesn’t make good teachers. Of course numbers don’t lie but they say little otherwise. With jobs on the line, CUSD needs to take more into consideration than just idioms.