THE LAST WORD:

Do Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials care more about saving money than teaching special education students?

We doubt it, but you’ll have trouble arguing the point to the more than a dozen parents who complained to school board members Tuesday that the district’s special education program is broken. They say educators leave them out of the process when selecting a program for their kids, and the district is picking less expensive ones to save money.

Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard denies the district is cutting corners, but he acknowledged the program needs help and pledged that school officials will work to improve it.

In the meantime, let’s all take a time out and consider the issues rationally. It’s easy to get emotional when you’re talking about the welfare of kids, especially your own.

But it will do no good if there’s name-calling and excessive finger-pointing. Hopefully everyone has the best interests of the children in mind. That’s far more important even than balancing the books.