When people need to know

Anyone reading the school news over the past week would believe April was indeed the cruelest month.

With someone stalking schoolchildren and water problems at Carson High School, Carson City public school officials are working overtime dealing with their day-to-day labor as well as recent developments.

Besides the high school's water issues and the stalker, the school district over this past year has dealt with mold at Bordewich Bray and the decision to ask voters for a bond and the arrest of some high school students for drugs.

Frankly, they've done a heck of a job as far as we're concerned.

One sign of a great organization is its willingness to tell people what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear.

And in Carson City, we're lucky to have school officials who do not flinch when it's time for a difficult announcement.

It was not easy for Mike Mitchell, the school district operations manager, to call the newspaper and say there is a possibility people might have consumed tainted water on Monday.

That the level of contamination was minuscule was irrelevant. What was important is that people have faith in their government.

The level of openness exercised by the school district is a huge step toward reinforcing that faith and is an example that should be followed by government at all levels.