In education, we often hear the same words when real problems are raised:
“It’s complicated.”
“It will take years.”
“Change is difficult.”
But for students who need support today, for families navigating learning challenges right now, and for school districts carrying unfunded mandates year after year, “difficult” is not an answer — it is a delay.
I believe something simple: No problem is impossible to solve when we approach it with urgency, common sense, and a willingness to act.
The Problem Isn’t Complexity — It’s Inaction
Yes, school aid is complex.
Yes, funding formulas involve data, policy, and politics.
But complexity should never become an excuse for indefinite inaction.
When a problem is clearly defined — and its impact is measurable — solutions should not take decades to materialize.
Take Academic Intervention Services (AIS), for example.
New York State requires every school district to provide these critical supports for struggling students: reading intervention, math support, small-group instruction, and academic progress monitoring.
These services work.
They improve literacy.
They boost graduation rates.
They close learning gaps before they widen.
But here is the reality: there is no dedicated State funding to pay for them.
So districts comply with the mandate — and local taxpayers shoulder the entire cost.
That is not a philosophical debate. That is a budget alignment problem. And budget alignment problems are solvable.
Students Can’t Wait for “Someday”
Long-term reform matters.
System-wide improvements matter.
But students live in the present — not in policy timelines.
When we tell families, educators, and communities that meaningful change may take five, ten, or fifteen years, what we are really saying is:
“The burden stays on you for now.”
But urgency does not mean recklessness.
It means recognizing that some problems can be addressed immediately, without rewriting entire systems.
You don’t have to rebuild the whole house to fix a leaking roof.
Action and Process Can Coexist
There is a misconception that acting quickly means abandoning collaboration or thoughtful planning. It doesn’t. What it means is this:
- We can pursue targeted relief while broader reforms continue
- We can solve specific funding gaps without dismantling existing formulas
- We can support students now while planning for the future
Progress does not have to be all-or-nothing.
Real leadership is knowing when to push forward — not just when to wait.
“Difficult” Is Not a Destination
Calling something “difficult” should describe the effort required, not the outcome expected.
Difficult does not mean impossible. Difficult does not mean permanent. Difficult does not mean “come back in ten years.”
Every major improvement in education policy started with someone asking:
“Why can’t this be better?”
And then refusing to accept,
“Because it’s complicated.”
Common Sense Still Has a Place in Policy
When the State requires a service, the State should help fund it. When students need support, systems should respond. When a problem is clear, solutions should not be delayed by process alone.
That is not radical. That is reasonable.
We don’t need to solve every challenge at once to solve one challenge today.
Choosing Momentum Over Maintenance
There is a difference between maintaining systems and improving them.
Maintenance keeps things running. Momentum moves things forward.
Education policy needs both — but progress only happens when someone is willing to say:
“Let’s do better, and let’s do it now.”
Because students don’t experience policy in decades. They experience it in classrooms. Every single day.
Final Thought
Change does not start with perfection. It starts with purpose.
And purpose, when paired with action, can turn “difficult” into done.
Let's work together to make education better for not just future generations, but the current generation.