The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics is a great institution. However, I, unlike the Board of Trustees and the administration of the school, recognize the need for large changes in the core of the school's operations.

     Should a school designed to test the cutting edge of education follow the adage, "If it's not broken, don't fix it," or should it take the independent commission seriously and finally change the problems at the root of the discord that anyone at NCSSM would be blind to ignore?

     The Board of Trustees continues to believe that the problems at the school are small. Like the director, the board becomes very defensive when this idea is challenged. The members of the board are out of touch with the school; they rarely listen to students and faculty, and when the commission tried to enhance communication, the board ignored it by dismissing the report as inappropriate.

     Director John Friedrick is a good man. He is not, however, an effective administrator; his lack of communication fuels many of the problems the school encounters. The perception that he intimidates faculty, staff, and students is true. When faculty and staff will not discuss school policy with students because they "fear for their jobs," something is wrong.

     Though many people may think this letter only furthers the negative press the school has received recently from the report, "the squeaky wheel gets the oil." Only by bringing the negatives to light will the school excel in the next century.

GREGORY BARLOW

     The writer is a junior at NCSSM.