That sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?

... oh yeah, I hear it almost every day from other HES parents.

In nearly every conversation I have with another HES parent, the issue of the CES/HES merger will inevitably come up. I guess that is to be expected. I have been so vocal on the issue that I am a magnet for such discussions.

In each of these conversations, the other parent will eventually express their resentment at being forced to find a new school for their child because their child "loves HES" and it is such a "good school." However, I have not heard a single one say they definitely plan to stay.

While it may provide little comfort to those of us struggling to figure out what to do next year, we are not alone.

Yesterday, The Washington Post printed a column that clearly shows how, like in Orange County, parents across the country are being driven away from the public school systems their tax dollars fund.

These parents (like the ones planning to leave HES) are not pulling out because their childrens' schools have been branded as "failing schools" nor are they the parents of children struggling to succeed in their current schools, rather they are increasingly the parents of high-performing children who are walking away from schools that have consistently met their yearly goals. But, why would anyone take their successful child out of a "good school"?

It is a last-ditch effort to escape local school authorities who's answer to the federal No Child Left Behind law "forces a fundamental educational approach so inappropriate for high-ability students that it destroys their interest in learning, as school becomes an endless chain of basic lessons aimed at low-performing students."

While the columnists lay much of the blame for the current state of our schools at the federal doorstep, the message should also be clearly sent to our own Board of Education - "it must address the fact that the requirements it imposed [and are currently proposing] are driving away many of the concerned and involved parents critical to our ailing public school system."

Too bad the message will likely fall on deaf ears.