Discussions last week with folks from both Cooper and Pathfinder have convinced this newspaper to change our stand concerning the proposed combination of the two programs into a new, different program at the Cooper Elementary School site.

The Seattle School District has told the two schools they will not only share the newer Cooper site starting in the fall of 2007, but that they are to work to devise an entirely new alternative school. "We have a unique opportunity to create a truly diverse school that can meet the needs of all students, and we look forward to helping you make that dream a reality," Seattle Schools Superintendent Raj Manhas wrote to the parents in each school last week.

Whose dream? Whose blueprint will these non-educationally trained parents follow? What rules are they to follow? Who will be in charge of worrying about the larger number of bi-lingual students that now attend Cooper? How will additional costs be financed?

The list of questions goes on and on. Cooper and Pathfinder have written "No" letters to the district and to this newspaper.

Pathfinder staff and teachers made it known on the web they were unhappy with a comment we made in our editorial last week. Based on what we knew then, we felt justified, but with what we know now, we have decided to reverse our opinion. (Letters from the school district, Pathfinder and Cooper are published on this page in their entirety.)

We still have no answer to the question, if not Cooper, where can Pathfinder be relocated? Could or should a brand new school be built for them in West Seattle - we question the financial feasibility of that but we withhold an opinion until there is a proposal.

Pathfinder has, in the past, has said it would not accept any changes in its current program. We believed then and now they should be flexible.

But Manhas' mandate goes too far without more consideration for the extremes of an alternative school being forced upon a traditional school.

So, this newspaper now believes the matter should be studied a lot more and a better plan decided upon before timelines and deadlines are imposed. We hope the Seattle School Board will reject or, at least, postpone its decision on Cooper and the Pathfinder program until some rationality is brought to the subject.

-Jack Mayne