In response to the comment to the first "Testimony" post, I agree with you that Senator Hann is a wonderful man. He is a strong advocate for school choice and has served his constituents well. My complaints are not with him or even the proposed amendment. I don't necessarily disagree that the state shouldn't mandate board composition, however my concern is that Cindy Ripple and Tamara Clement (and possibly others) presented themselves to Senators Hann and Michel and the Education Committee as representative of the ERA community.
Because the amendment didn't pass, we could say, "No harm, no foul", but harm has been caused from those few like Ripple and Clement who wish to continue to paint ERA as struggling, as mired in "governance issues". Maybe you don't agree with a teacher majority board, maybe you just don't see board composition as all that big of a deal, but maybe you do agree that ERA is a gem, a shining city on a hill, and that maybe it's time to let others know that you're not represented by the nattering nabobs.
2 comments:
We all have choices. You can choose to send your children to ERA...or not. But do not present yourselves as representatives of our school community when, in fact, you are not. It is this type of underhanded, circumvent-the-existing-system-in-place that got us in this position in the first place. A half-truth is no truth at all.
I am open to different board configurations, but not at the expense of the education of my children. If I trust the wonderful teachers at ERA to educate my children, I certainly hope I can trust them to govern thoughtfully, with best intentions for the good of the school community, on the Board. And I do.
In recent years, the teachers (licensed or not) who have served on the board have been more responsive to the needs of the school than some other members. They have tried to put forth an agenda which puts the students first. I do not see them as power-hungry or greedy for this control. I cannot say this is true for the opposition.
Well said, my friend.
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