Lots of local pals read my blog. I tell you that not to toot my own horn, but to explain why I can’t name names or go into too much detail regarding a situation that absolutely should have had–AND STILL SHOULD HAVE–legal ramifications because of the absolute lunacy and illegal/unprofessional manner with which a School Board is running a local district into the ground.
From bold-faced slander to repeated violations of the Sunshine Act to being more concerned with dress code than student achievement, this School Board is comprised of characters better than any on today’s sitcoms. The way they somehow remain immune from consequences of blatant nepotism is pretty impressive, too. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Superintendent and his brother, the School Board President…
Fun fact: the new Superintendent did not have the required certifications for position, but the School Board was all “don’t worry about it, pal! This one’s on us!” So the district, you know, the taxpayers, footed the bill for Big Brother’s Superintendent papers and VOILA! Wonder who else the School Board got all Oprah with:
YOU GET PAPERS! YOU GET PAPERS! ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY GET PAPERS!
Why do I even care about this? Because this particular school was my first love. I poured blood, sweat, and tears (sooo many tears) into that place, and as my colleagues and I worked hard–hard, you guys–to make it better, there were jerk faces around every corner plotting our demise. Why would any adult want to destroy a child’s education? Your guess is as good as mine, but if I were a betting woman, I’d say it’s because some adults don’t like it when a White woman and a Black man are in positions of power, as were our principals. Those pesky minorities!
To read the rest of my rant on We Are Teachers, click HERE or the graphic below:
thank you for posting this. We are currently battling a similar problem in our school district – the battle was over a building project but a group have taken over via lies and deceit and are systematically ruining a good district 🙁
Thank you for reading, Amy. I’m so sorry to hear you’re battling the same kind of thing in your district. It’s really scary to see what power can do to a person. Or, more accurately, what power in the wrong hands can do to the masses. Hang in there–here’s hoping things turn around! xo
In my small town, we have a school board of what I like to call Yes Men, even though some of them are women. They let certain administrators in our school do whatever they want! They make decisions behind closed doors, which is illegal! Most of them have no background in education at all. You see, if you get elected to our school board, the taxpayers get to pay for your health insurance so it’s very appealing to farmers and the self employed. They are so ignorant on what’s actually going on in our schools and they do not have enough education experience to really address the problems so they just go with the flow and as a result, we have this wonderful buddy system going on. If you are part of that buddy system, whatever you want…no questions asked. How will it affect our kids? Well, who cares about that?
Sadly, they are ruining our school system and letting our administrators kick it while it’s down. My husband, my parents, my in-laws, and I as well as numerous other family members graduated from this school. I have family and friends who teach there (who btw are equally disheartened). We are small town proud and want our kids to be as well but that looks less and less likely with each passing year. For the first time in our life, we are considering switching school systems next fall 🙁
This is the first I’ve heard of taxpayers paying for health insurance! That’s INSANE!!!!!! Makes me sad because it’s like people have to be baited to participate in their community’s education, and what a terrible, horrible way to entice the wrong kinds of volunteers. OYE VEY! I sure hope things turn around for you guys, Tamara. Thank you for reading and commenting xo
Apathy among the taxpayers is biggest enabler of school boards such as this one. Take a look at how many votes were cast in the school board elections…it is probably embarrassing how low the turnout. Does anyone (other than those 5 or 6 “regulars” that attend every meeting and complain no matter what) go to the meetings in large numbers on a consistent basis and demand transparency and change? The more “local” the election, we should see higher voter interest/turnout because it has a much greater impact on our daily lives than the larger general elections (like presidents) that we all take so seriously. Instead of watching the next CNN republican town hall, how about attending a school board meeting!
AGREED!