Editorial left out important details

Glendale News-Press editorials should serve as a model of thoughtful discourse, and they often do. However, in “Same information, different results,” published Nov. 25, the News-Press fails in its purported mission to educate and inform Glendale’s residents on community issues.

Rather than offer tangible evidence as to why the Glendale Teachers Assn. and officials in the Glendale Unified School District have not been able to forge a deal on furlough days — as have their counterparts in Burbank — the News-Press instead offers an extended metaphor of a “choose your own adventure” series to suggest that the two sides in Burbank are to be praised for their deal, while the two parties in Glendale are to be scolded, at the very least.

If the News-Press wishes to condemn the district or the teachers union (the latter of which seems the more probable given the News-Press track record and its underlying tone in this editorial), then it should do so using facts specific to Glendale.

The News-Press could report how many dollars the Glendale Unified School District has in its reserves and compare that amount proportionally to Burbank to see if Glendale truly has the monies to restore the furlough days for this school year.

The News-Press could report the degree to which the projected yearly expenditures/revenue for Glendale have matched with the actual numbers for the past few years.

These kinds of facts would help give credence to an editorial, and help give our community useful fodder for informed dialogue on this issue that affects nearly 27,000 students in our community.

Until the News-Press editorial board undertakes such reporting, though, it is difficult to engage in thoughtful dialogue that is grounded in more than extended metaphors.

Chris Davis

Glendale