I wish I could take credit for the title of this post, however, the author of that line is Henry David Thoreau. How right he is (and was).
It seems that every time there is an election, all the politicians are running on “change.” I guess what they understand is that people always want change. Is it that we are never satisfied where we are now? Maybe. Or is the real meaning of “change” simply a desire to strive to make things “better” than they are now.
Going back to Thoreau for a moment; it seems we change and things don’t change. If we want improvement, then what things about us must change to move forward and improve the Board of Education and education in general? That’s a tough one.
Therefore, from this point forward, I want to address “change” as improvement. That improvement will occur when we change. Does that mean changing to new Board members? Well, I know at least one guy that should be there. ;) All joking aside, here are a few of my thoughts on change and improvement.
1) Board meetings should stay focused solely on education matters.
It’s been too embarrassing and potentially dangerous lately. I can’t even bring my kids anymore. We should not need to have police at the meetings, but unfortunately that need does exist.
2) Increase the number of Board meetings.
Not to a crazy amount, but certainly a few more. These additional meetings can be the time for the public to talk more in detail with the Board. Meetings specifically designed for public comment with more back-and-forth allowed during the 5 minutes.
3) Better communication between district and parents.
First off, I think it’s pretty good now so I’m not knocking it. I get email updates all the time; whenever I call about issues related to my kids, they get back to me instantly. My emails to teachers and administrators are answered within minutes sometimes. What I mean is that not all parents share my experience. We just need to find out why and make it better.
4) Taxes, taxes, taxes.
Everyone is working hard and paying taxes. I’m paying around $6,000 a year. We rented a house on 7th Street for $750 per month when we moved here in 1991. That’s only $9,000 a year total, which is less than many people’s tax bill today. But guess what, I don’t see our taxes going down. That’s the reality of the situation. Anyone who promises “Lower Taxes” is simply lying to get elected. Don’t buy that line, “Lower taxes” ain’t happenin’. That’s why we must...
5) End the waste.
We cannot waste money having our highly-paid administrators spending time defending themselves. Either we trust them to do their jobs and work with them or we let them go. I am in agreement with the former. We have to be efficient with every dime. That means NO lawsuits, NO fighting, and NO revenge politics.
My question to you is, “What changes/improvement would you like to see?” Please click on “comment” and post your ideas—thanks!
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3 comments:
I agree a 100% with everything you said Scott, I also think that the situation with the Board meetings has to get better. To have adults acting in the way the are is unbelievable, our children see and hear about all that. Is it healthy for all of us to have the constant fight between parents and board of education and other people who ENJOY also getting involved in that fight when they don't even have children in the scgool system anymore? This is a great blog Scott !!!!! Good point too..
I would like to see a mentoring program for some of the new/young administrators. I would like to see more experienced teachers at the high school. I would like the hs kids to have limits on cell phone use during classroom hours.
I would like to see a mentoring program for the new/young administrators and teachers particularly at the high school. I would like to see more experienced teachers.
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