A stunning decision was delivered tonight by 9-R Board President Floyd Patterson. Superintendent Mary Barter will finish her contract, not wrapping up her stay with Durango Schools until June of 2008. This came after a week of turmoil, in which former president Mike Matheson resigned in protest, accusing his former colleagues of collusion in a plot to fire the superintendent.
Mr. Patterson assured those in the large audience that big changes will be put in place. He stated that Board members understand that serious problems have been allowed to develop, particularly in the District's approach to communications and community relationships. A full review of Policy Governance will be underway for the Board. Many in the crowd said that that can not come too soon.
A very civil evening followed the announcement as the board encouraged citizens to stay involved. There may never have been a more important time for this community to come together for its children, and board members pledged their dedication to developing new procedures for reaching out to the public.
Stay tuned.
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15 comments:
Who typed up the speech that Floyd Patterson read? When did they type it up? Not in the short executive session they took. Did Mary Barter dictate it in the morning? The attorney? Both? Were the board involved at all? Or were they weak? Why did they crumble? Should they be recalled?
Can we see a copy of the speech? Both sides made many promises. Or did they? Did the board make all the promises? Is it business as usual? No interface with the public, more abuse from the public information officer?
Why did the board eat pie? Are the board guilty as charged? Or were they set up?
Who was their legal attorney? Did they get a second opinion?
Did the board mean to ignore the community who elected them?
What was the cause for accusing them of breaking the Sunshine Laws? Did Mike Matheson break Sunshine Laws when he was seen having lunch with Mark Seiter and Mary Barter recently? Where do you eat when you are plotting the Coup? Isn't that the same allegation that Matheson made about the board? Said he saw two members in a restaurant, now we have evidence that two members were at large with the superintendent.
Was the poor leadership because of Mike Matheson?
Will the Herald investigate? Request Friday Memo's under the Freedom of Information Act? Request other documents too? What deplorable act of deceit just happened this time?
More questions than answers.
Can you trust the board? Can you trust the superintendent? Will they really keep the promises they made?
Will they really address all the issues and concerns?
Democracy is a messy business.
If Durango High School's student achievement is in decline, and we failed AYP for the second year in three, what is really going on?
How does that equate to us being top in the state?
Will the press releases be more honest now? Will we address our failings as well as celebrating our successes?
Were the school board compromised? Maybe they should have all resigned, rather than the sell out. School Board suicide? Can't trust any of them now.
Did the Gang of Six the night before have a louder voice than hundreds of parents?
Will we ever know?
I will be removing my student from 9-R and then I won't have to put up with all this twisted information.
It sounds like Mike Matheson, Mark Seiter and Mary Barter met for lunch....and figured out a way to screw their fellow board members?
What is the point of a school board now, if it is a lame duck?
There was a very good reason to keep Dr. Barter.
A quarter of a million dollar one.
It appears the board were forced to back down, they don't care about our children, only about their reputations.
"Act--don't react. You really do have to choose whether you want to be angry and sarcastic and react to your board,letting them play you like a fiddle--or set your own path and become effective." -- Peyton Wolcott
Business as usual for 9-R. It's very obvious we have no voice. Dr. Barter runs this district, always has, and always will until she leaves. The message is loud and clear--we have nowhere to turn and no one to trust. The Board doesn't listen and we have to wonder what the point is in having a school board that disregards its constituents.
We surely can't depend on getting an accurate report of the climate survey. We can't expect a truthful disclosure of CSAP test results.
I would hope that in the future when we hire a principal or superintendent we do some careful research because if the previous district was "never so happy to get rid of" someone, then that should give us a red flag.
Of course, we can't depend on our Board to listen to us about hiring anyone and I think it's just a big joke that they're asking for input on hiring the new principal. They don't care what we think. Mary Barter will hire whomever she pleases as was evidenced at the Escalante fiasco.
How many more days until June 2008?
What a very, very disappointing decision. Our kids will pay the price in their education and they will learn, firsthand, it doesn't pay to get involved because it's just a waste of time and effort.
Hey y'all
Chill Out! Put on some John Lee Hooker, real loud, call a friend in London to get a hold of their classic Thunderbird garaged down in Texas, take your "kid" out of school, drive to Texas, borrow the TBird, and Thelma and Louise it across the boarder to Mexico, find a quiet beach, or a mountain village, and simply forget that the past 7 years in education in Durango have been such a nightmare.
They still don't have a program at DHS to remediate these dyslexic kids -- so whats the point of them being in school. Two dropped out these past few months, another is an F student, and mine might as well be a traveling with me, whilst we sing the Blues to sand and sea.
Let the world be our school.
By the way, the TBird I'm trying to borrow -- we flew in to Texas in 1995, got it out of the garage, drove across to San Francisco, and shot John Lee Hooker sitting on the bonnet. A real rich photograph, eggshell blue TBird, with that Great Man atop it, and the hues of his acoustic guitar just shimmering in the light of his garage.
It was great. Those days were great. How silly of me to think life evolved around making change for dyslexic children in Durango School District 9-R and the State of Colorado.
Life evolves around having experiences like that, hanging with John, watching him play, laughing sweetly. Must have had my head in the sand these past 7 years. Thinking I could make a difference.
Maybe we should do the Big Dream now. Ever read "The Old Patagonian Express" by Paul Theroux? I read it before my son was born. I've always wanted to do that trip with him. Maybe 11th and 12th grade could be on the slow train to Patagonia, and if the tracks have closed down, then we could always take the slow boat to China.
Oh c***, I almost forgot! I have a husband! A house! A mortgage! A cat! A dog! 3 horses! 70 chickens! Land! All to take care of! Oh c***!! Gone are the days of saying Adios Amigo's and jumping on the road with back pack, American Express and child in tow. I have to be responsible now. I could always call Daddy Dearest and ask for a year on the mortgage, and money for a Maid! LOL. I could never leave my husband though, I love him, maybe he wants to Thelma and Louise it down to Mexico with us. Maybe a few weeks will suffice? Call it a "holiday" instead of running away from this sorry day.
I'll be praying for you sisters! Don't forget that the most precious gift is to be alive, feel the wind, smell the air, feel the earth and look at the clouds.
Anne Spence
P.S. Wondering how it got to this. It wasn't like I didn't try to get my son an education. I did more than any parent should have to do. And still we are ignored. In fact, it's worse than that, because the Party Line is to write us off as "The Usual Suspects" (Joel Jones), "The Peanut Gallery" (Mike Matheson) "A poorer example of citizenship" (Deb Uroda).
Well -- what did any of you do for a Dyslexic child today? Yesterday? At least I changed state law to include them. Will you do something for them tomorrow? I hope so. Can you restore my faith?
Now prove to me you care enough and hire an expert teacher at DHS who can provide our children with a scientifically proven method of teaching, and save our community hundreds of thousands ($4.2 billion in the state of Colorado is lost from the economy on High School dropouts/0ver 80% of youth in prison are illiterate) by educating them, our sons and our daughters, with one gift.
The gift to read and dream, like you and I. The gift of Literacy.
Well said, Anne.
When we got a new elementary principal some years back, it was the principal's goal to rid the school of parents who voiced opinions. It was the goal of the principal to divide the community. And, it was the goal of the principal to take the community out of the school. All three goals have been accomplished. The result? Parents who will no longer be involved, will no longer volunteer, will no longer support the school. The education of the kids suffers.
When parents are ignored, the school system loses valuable assets.
A road trip sounds like a fine idea!
Let me guess, you're either a teenager or have the maturity of one.
We are people who have given up time, energy, and money to try to ensure that our children receive the education they deserve. We are not nut jobs, we do not have an evil plan; we are parents, community members, and educators who care deeply about this district, but after repeated attempts to solve problems that dramatically affect the educational experiences of our children, have become frustrated and tired of the same rhetoric and half-truths from 9-R.
Honorable people operate under transparency because they have nothing to hide. They do not alter test scores or survey results. They respond to constituents. They offer honest dialogue to solve problems.
Your remarks only illustrate the ignorance that abounds in this district and the true need for a change. Open your eyes, ask questions, study the information, you may be surprised to find who needs to slither away.
Ohh you know that Barter believes she now has a mandate with 9-R she can do no wrong from here out. She has the remaining school board members intimidated, teachers in the district dismayed (we thought the witch was dead), and the public reeling. She can do no wrong from here out, $250,00 to remove a cancer in the school district would have been well worth it. Another HUGE mistake made by the school board.
I'm not sure the remaining school board members are intimidated. They came together, perhaps for the first time in 14 months. I sat there all night. Towards the end, I thought to myself how nice the atmosphere was -- the relationship between Dr. Barter and the five board members. I know we were probably all exhausted, but it wasn't that. It was the shift in their relationship.
If the board are going to reclaim their leadership role, and if Dr. Barter is going to work with them as a team, and not just with two individuals, then I have to believe in that.
One can only watch and wait, and hope for the best. If there was truth in the statements of both board and Dr. Barter, then one must give it a chance.
I hope the new 7th board member is prepared to work as a team, and I hope Mark is prepared to too. The school board will only work, if the 7 members are together, and not divided. Having favorites doesn't work. We've proved that in recent years. It causes too much mistrust.
People have got to trust each other, or get off the pot.
Nut Jobs? Those nuts would be those who showed up on Monday and didn't even know why they were in the room. Nuts - crazy people who think they can walk into a room , uninformed about the issues and believe they can change everything. Nut job doesn't describe me or any of my fellow citizens. We are educated to the 9th degree about Public School Policy. We do communicate, we have build trust and friendships with like minded educated individuals who care about public education and we will keep fighting for our children and all children of La Plata County.
I so love these board members. They did the right thing and we couldn't be more satisfied.
I eat Nuts for lunch!
Hiya, "Searching for a New Principal"! Welcome to the discussion. A true dialogue makes room for all participants and points of view.
Please excuse me if I find your message a bit ambiguous, could you clarify? Are you on some sort of parent-driven selection committee for the new DHS principal?
Also, your comments about "nuts" and the school board's decision could be taken a couple of ways. Do you take the position that:
1) Keeping Mary Barter as superintendent, without making any changes to current procedures or policies, is the best course of action? Or...
2) You feel that the school board made a practical decision in retaining Ms. Barter, but that the school board and Barter must begin to make significant changes in present policies and programs? These changes would address problems that have been ignored for too long to the detriment of our students.
If you take the first view (and I do not believe that you do) and are involved in any sort of committee to recommend a new principal for DHS, you may as well resign now. Ample experience has shown that under past policies these committees have been set up to keep up appearances, but their recommendations are routinely dismissed and Ms. Barter does whatever she feels like.
If you take the second view, then I wish you all the best in your participation in recommending a new principal. I hope that a newly energized board will stand with you in making sure that your hard work is not for naught and that your recommendations are listened to seriously. I personally feel that we need more substantive parent input into things like the selection of a new principal, someone who will have such a profound effect on thousands of students in the years to come.
Again, welcome, and I would be interested to hear more of your views on the matters being discussed.
In response to Walt.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put it in writing. I would first have to make clear I am not on this committee. I am concerned about this choice for the students at Durango High School. I want to see the reins of this superintendent shortened. The School Board should be directing her instead of the other way around. The search for principal is the first step for 9-R in collaborating with this community in a positive way and perhaps regaining some of the trust we have lost in this district. Searching for a Principal is a Durango Concern not only a 9-R concern.
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