Letters to the Editor
March 16, 2022
One size fits all doesn't work
Letter to the editor:
I look forward to the weekly Star-Times when I get it once a week, two per every other week, etc. based upon the postal service’s delivery issues. These comments are related to the February 23, 2022, issue and the article by Mr. Stafford of the Vienna High School.
Mr. Stafford is 100% correct! Every point he discusses is absolutely accurate and I was impressed of his example of One Size Fits All (OSFA). The continual attempts of big government attempting to override local control is a national issue especially in blue states. Sorry, to go that direction, but it is what it is.
OSFA is not just about school districts. I am a long-term fire chief in suburban Houston, Texas. Our district has 50,000 citizens in a 12 square mile area and we are quite busy. Our primary zip code was recently “selected” as the highest crime rate within our 1,800 square mile county, the largest in Texas. The example here is that OSFA does not work; we must adapt and act locally to address our negative issues.
The best example of OSFA not working is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) creating “standards,” which I refer to as goals, that create a cesspool of liability concerns. The Staunton Fire Protection District is certainly not the same as the Ponderosa Fire Department I lead. And yet, the standards apply to all of us, and that just isn’t right. We become NFPA “offenders” because we CANNOT meet these standards due to LOCAL resources, various response requirements comparing small town to metro suburban, and the plain fact that some of these standards are not based on science, but based upon lofty goals of being perfect, which aren’t possible in this business.
I applaud the Staunton School District in their efforts to retain local control. I applaud the citizens of the District for being so supportive over the decades and decades of excellent education. I thank you for taking the time to read this.
Fred Windisch
Houston, Texas
Fire Chief
Ponderosa Fire Department
• Former resident of Staunton and former member of the Staunton Fire Department
• Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Volunteer and Combination Officers Section
• And! A host of other accomplishments due to our strong family, the Staunton School District and St. Michael’s School.
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