A few years ago board members were warned it would be very difficult to find superintendent candidates willing to come to Durango. At the time, that sounded a bit ludicrous given the amenities of our beautiful setting and superb community.
Now with 44 applications, the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea must winnow the list to a reasonable 5 or 6 for board members to interview in January.
The firm recently presented a summary of community concerns and opinions they heard during visits to our community. It is useful reading, both as an affirmation of our strengths and as confirmation that changes are in order - more support for teachers, improved communications with public, and a better long range plan.
We wish the search team and board members well and look forward to meeting candidates next month.
Questions candidates could face might include their response to the superintendent's assessment of pending financial troubles. In addition to fears of falling enrollment, Barter recently referred to Durango Academy and the High School's reorganization as "potential wild cards."
We live in interesting times. With a positive attitude, an energetic candidate could find this an opportune moment to tap into this community's reservoirs of creativity and talent.
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25 comments:
It's great that 44 people applied for the superintendent job. I remember listening to some past school board members telling us how lucky we would be if two or three applied.
I'm praying for a superintendent with vision, heart, and resolution to get the job done.
How much does or has Durango Academy cost this school district? A couple of hundred thousand dollars? Does anyone know?
If it is that much, we could have had 4 years of training with Lindamood Bell across the entire school district for that amount of money.
What a shame, we wasted it on 40 children, when we could have used it to benefit 5,000.
Perhaps someone can find out how much the DA thing has cost?
Regarding the Durango Academy experiment above:
I'm a former Excel parent, name best unmentioned until my last child graduates in June.
If only Mary Barter had provided Excel with the kind of resources and latitude she's given Durango Academy! We tried very hard to work with every student who came our way... we had some great years and lots of success but in the end, Mary has Durango Academy.
She made her opposition to charter schools very clear from the first day on the job .. then and now she's underestimated the benefits, or understood the challenge of creating small schools.
I was opposed to making DHS so huge and can't forget that 9-R PR spin that small schools do not matter in communities like ours. You are right in this blog to mention it as it was a huge and arrogant mistake followed by keeping a principal in place who clearly couldn't lead, couldn't cope and made everything worse. He was a nice guy but not the guy for the job.
Now that D.A. is failing, big time, will Barter begin to grasp how difficult it was to keep Excel thriving? How much support is needed? Will she look back and realize the way her attitude and inexperience was so hurtful?
9-R has become great at shutting good things down... my daughter loved going to Entrada - teachers were fun and kind and the culture wasn't so cruel and she later attended DHS... but now even Entrada is gone!! I suspect it was too "out of the box" for the Barter crew to appreciate.
Please, school board, make sure the next superintendent's story is checked out FULLY. We have little energy left here after so many years of the famous "brick wall." I'm likely out of here when my child graduates...9-R was a disappointing part of living in an otherwise wonderful town. Good luck to the new blood...and things will get better... if the board keeps up the good work. Must say that I like Paddy Lynch from what I've seen. He means well and knows a lot! And people will come around.
Looking for questions for superintendent candidates?
Use the Head Hunters' report... ask the candidates what they'd do with problems like ours? get them engaged and listen carefully.
http://www.durangoschools.org/
click on Supt. Search logo - then look for the consultant's report. We've got problems. Let's get someone likely to fix them.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING OUR DISTRICT?
Consistently reported:
Parents and community members need a vehicle to communicate concerns and discuss educational issues
Parents feel marginalized
Few options for students who struggle
Need multiple pathways to graduation
Failure to engage the community
High school is too large
District is reactionary to multiple issues
Achievement of children of color
Some educational and corporate resources not being utilized
District needs to be proactive
Need more options for students
Special education issues
Support for teachers to take classes
Need more coordination between the district and Fort Lewis College
Not enough professional development
Impact of Animas High School and private schools
Contract negotiations
Need additional emergency training
Open campus creates a safety issue
Drop out rate – especially among minorities
Structure of school board meetings does not foster involvement
Political mandates (e.g.: CSAP testing)
Need to help students learn how to process information
Curriculum needs to be more experiential and engaging
Basic math skills are weak
Lack of transportation for after school activities
Student teacher ratios
Adjusting to growth and change within the community
Teaching to the lowest common denominator because of NCLB
I have taken the liberty to write a "letter to the editor" about why the board is ineffective. The current superintedant has had plenty of time to surround herself with personnel with the same mindset. If more parents, teachers, and taxpayers would get involved....maybe we can get something done. The superintendant seems to act with impunity and the board has pretty much given its authority over. A lot of the board seem don't like conflict...so the attitude "go along to get along" prevails. Even if we hire a new superintendant...things will be the same if the board does not rewrite its policy governance so that it has control. It seems no one in 9-R breaths without the superintendants permission. The difference between myself and the other board members...was that I taught at DHS. People can say that I am 'angry', 'like Parsons', or that I have an 'axe to grind'...the truth is....I didn't like the administration then....or now. I make no bones about it. I don't like the hypocracy. As long as the Board fails to lead...then we will continue in the same direction. I am one of seven...and I can't do a thing without the public. Barter needs to be gone...NOW! Not tomorrow...not in six months. The longer she stays...the longer she is in a position to disrupt the process. I am for ending her contract now. It is also my opinion that 9-R needs to find another legal council.
Joe and Padaig are right on.
I agree with Paddy and it is too bad Mary stays this long. I personally get involved with parents and children who need help in the system as it pertains to children with Learning Disabilities. I tried for years to speak at School Board meetings just to be put down in the Herald by our PIO officer. Now I don't bother going to meetings at 12th street. I meet with staff and parents in Individual Educational Plan Meetings. Together we accomplish much in these meetings with those who are in the trenches.
Parents need to become educated in order to help their children. We cannot depend on Administration to give a rip. I will continue to help free of charge anyone who finds themselves and their children being screwed by a system meant to help. You go Paddy, follow your heart, you are one of the good guys!
Hey Ho....is it just me, or is there something fundamentally wrong when Durango High School and the Administration of School District 9-R "forget" to tell parents and students that there was a bomb scare at the High School on Wednesday?
It's now Friday, and the first I heard about it, was when my 11th grade student called me at lunch time to tell me that he was not going back to school today, because the school just told the students about a bomb scare and although it happened on Wednesday, the police were at the school and my son wasn't going back!
Like....hello.....I agree with him, because I am none the wiser, so I concur that he might as well go and hang out with his friends, because until someone in authority tells me what's going on, I don't want my son going anywhere near the school either.
Eventually, I get a teacher, who assures me that there is nothing to fear, because she wouldn't be in the building talking to me, if a bomb was about to go off, and that DHS/9-R decided to write a letter to parents (today), and send it home with the students 48 hours after the event. How kind!
Questions: Why didn't they evacuate the school? Why was it kept out of the media? Who has the right to decide whether or not this is legitimate or not?
A bomb scare is a bomb scare, with the IRA on my doorstep for 35 years I have been evacuated from many a building, nobody ever thought as Harrods blew up: "Oh well...too much (rain)...let's not evacuate the little darlings".
A bomb scare is a serious thing, whether it's a crack pot hoax or not, our children should have been evacuated during the snow storm.
I presume, if they catch the idiot who called this in, he/she will be treated accordingly, even if our children were not treated in the appropriate manner and evacuated.
It's absolutely absurd that our children were not evacuated. It turned out to be a hoax, but who wants to chance it? What if while they checked into it there was a real bomb and children were killed. It is NOT worth our children's lives.
On the same note, school should have been cancelled last Monday. Absolutely ridiculous to hold school when the roads were so hazardous, people were without electricity, and snow continued to fall throughout the day. Never mind the fact that buses couldn't run because chains were broken. Why did they hold school? Is there something for Mary Barter to gain by not cancelling school? This is further proof that the administration doesn't put our children's needs in first place. Something else comes before the needs of our kids.
I sure hope 9-R gets cleaned up after the mess Dr. Barter has left. There are so many things wrong with our district, I'm sure it will take some time to make it right.
Mr. Lynch--parents/the public will not get involved until we can make a difference. It's a waste of time and effort to try to work with people who won't listen and don't care. If this board wants more involvement, show us that it matters. Show us that our time and effort won't be wasted. Do something to show us that we're part of the equation. Dr. Barter has run the board and the district for far too long and many believe this is the way it should work, that the superintendent is a dictator and it's "her way or the highway." This is not right and has never been right and I'm still appalled that the board renewed her contract 5 or 6 years ago. Why?
We need to move forward and not make the same mistake in the future. Our district should not be run by a superintendent that cares nothing for the students/parents/community. We need someone who will respect us and value us and will work to repair all the damage that's been done in the last 10 years. And, we need a superintendent that's more concerned about our kids and will evacuate when there's a bomb scare and will call snow days when the roads are too hazardous for travel!!!!
Why didn't they evacuate the students to...er.....La Plata County Fairgrounds, the Extension Building and even the Rec Center? Even in the snow they could have managed that kind of evacuation.
It's absolutely outrageous to think they decided it was a hoax before they even knew it truly was a hoax. Did they bring in bomb sniffing dogs? Did they search the school? Or did the principal just say she thought she recognized the voice on the answer machine?
What happened to the Public Information Officer? Was she fired for being a loose canon? Does she still work there? Is she part time? Did she think not reporting a bomb scare at the High School was not worthy of newspaper column inches on Thursday morning?
A few years back, a student I know proudly told me he had purchased from the internet The Anarchist's Hand Book. I was alarmed, because this was the same kid who liked shooting cats.
What on earth gives 9-R the right to assume it was a hoax, when there are crazy kid's at DHS to make it a reality?
My daughter attends DHS. I was at the Parent Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday evening when Diane Lashinsky very calmly and concisely explained the bomb threat situation and subsequent action taken by administration and the police department. It sounded perfectly logical, according to the sequence of the events, for them to make the decision not to evacuate the buildings and I agree with that decision. The news was not released at the request of the police department as they felt it might hinder their investigation. Ms. Lashinsky felt the PD would make an arrest Wed. evening or Thursday day but they wanted to be sure they had done a thorough investigation so that's why nothing surfaced until Friday. The administration did the right thing by keeping the kids in school.
As far as the snowstorm on Monday...nobody is forcing anyone to drive on icy roads or put their kids on a school bus without chains just to go to school. We made the trip but some of my daughter's friends didn't. No big deal. I guess it's all about choice...and those who chose to stay home were given excused absences.
Thanks for your perspectives on the DHS bomb threat – from the person who attended the High School’s PAC meeting it would appear that no one told the Herald the complete story. I would urge the District to explain it now. The news story leaves the public with the message that the criteria for evaluating bomb threats is very subjective. Especially inexplicable is the idea that threats by students can be ignored because they just want to get out of classes. Well, maybe. Maybe not!
A parent I spoke to referenced the warning signs that came directly from students at Columbine. Was 9-R’s official policy on bomb scares explained at the PAC meeting? Is there a very clear policy in place and was it followed? I do not feel comfortable having principals entrusted with relying on their intuitive powers to determine the seriousness of any threat. Letting us in on how this decision was made by police and principal is needed. In the future, will it be the age of the caller’s voice... or the tone of the voice in the message? Are 9-R principals and local police really comfortable being put in this position? What kind of training have they had that makes the District confident that any bomb threat can be ignored while a police investigation is undertaken?
I recall how adamantly Mary Barter defended Greg Spradling's unannounced and unexplained combination lockdown-drug dog search two years ago which scared the living daylights out of staff and students who were allowed to believe there was a shooter walking the halls, banging the locker doors…as some crouched in closets. So now has the pendulum really shifted this far that bomb threats can ever be assumed to be just pranks? If that’s the case, let’s quickly revisit Mary Barter’s ban on international travel and find out whether the DHS Abroad Program could be revived. I hear that 9/11 fears are being given as a reason that our schools can no longer be used for political caucuses … can that possibly be true? Does anyone seriously fear that citizens coming together in school buildings to talk about politics warrants anti-terrorist style security measures ... in Durango? Without consistency and transparency the 9-R Mary Barter lack of trust issue will persist ...and so will rumors. Until this incident is clarified in the same way that it must have been for the DHS PAC meeting, the rest of us remain in the dark...and I hope you will agree that raising questions about this decision isn't unhealthy... it's for the safety and good of all... thanks for writing.
Much Thanks to the Parent who attended the PAC meeting on Thurs night. How many parents attended this meeting to hear the "Inside Scoop" on the bomb threat?
I too believe an evacuation on Weds should have taken place.
Bliss points out the inconsistencies with many (Safety) Policies within 9-R. The Public has many questions and we should have a forum at which we can get answers. Article by the PIO, Herald....
I believe Trust is earned. Lashinsky doesn't have mine yet and Mary Barter lost it quite awhile ago!
Do we have a Response Threat Bomb Plan? Are our teachers trained in evacuation
Evacuating the school. The assessment of the seriousness of the bomb threat will help decide whether to conduct a search, what kind of search to conduct and whether an evacuation or partial evacuation is necessary.† Of course, if an evacuation is contemplated, a search of the evacuation route and holding areas is necessary prior to ordering the evacuation. The decision should be considered by the bomb threat response team, but the final decision will be the responsibility of the school principal or school district superintendent, after consultation with local police and other emergency-related officials—again, depending on the assessment of the seriousness of the bomb threat, and depending on the working relationship you have developed with your schools. While in most cases it is likely that there will be no bomb, and that the motivation of the threatener is probably to cause widespread disruption to the school by calling in a hoax, there is strong pressure to conduct an evacuation even if there is the slightest doubt that a real bomb could be present. It should be noted, however, that evacuation might not necessarily be the safest or even necessary response.37 In one case, for example, a student called in a threat, expecting an evacuation, and then shot students as they exited the school according to a practiced evacuation plan. In one junior-senior high school in New York in 2001, a rash of bomb threats resulted in the evacuation of the school only twice. Furthermore there is some anecdotal evidence that conducting evacuations for every bomb threat rewards the caller by doing exactly what he wants, and so may increase the incidence of such threats. In any event, the response plan (Response 1) should also have produced an evacuation kit containing basic but important information on such details as bus schedules, phone trees, name tags, bus rosters and routes etc.
First off- let me say that using "anonymous" as your name...doesn't really show me much. Secondly...I wasn't 'privy' to the information as to why the school was not evacuated. However; there are several reasons as to why a school might not be evacuated. Say for example that the caller said that the bomb would go off at noon, and left it on an answering machine, and the message wasn't received till 1500. Furthermore; most people who phone in a bomb threat that is real...don't or wouldn't leave it on an answering machine. What if you got a call where you could hear laughter and giggling in the background?? If you were to evacuate a high school due to a bomb...you would have mass hysteria, but you would get into trouble if you just said it was a fire drill so that everyone would evacuate in an orderly fashion. With all the cell phones that the students have...calling there parents and the parents immediatly leaving work to go pick up their children, the roads in Durango would be overwhelmed, hindering rescue, fire and police. So...without knowing ALL the circumstances surrounding the incident, I won't be to hasty to judge until I have ALL the facts. It's easy to be an "arm chair quarterback". I read this website from time to time to listen to you. Sitting around saying that you won't be heard, or won't make a difference can NOT be used as an excuse for not being involved anymore. I am listening, and I am trying to make a difference. So quit hiding behind 'anonymous'. You are right...you can stand up and speak out...and you might get fired. Take me for example...but I am not a coward and that is a risk I took. If I were in charge...I would make an example to the MAXIMUM extent of the law of the perpetrators...and I would sue their parents for damages. Maybe then will the parents know what is going on with their kids. Look at all the other instances of school violence.....someone knew beforehand. ....and failed to act....and why???? Because they were cowards or because they were afraid of a lawsuit???
I appreciate this site...keeping informed and trying to inform to the extent possible; BE AWARE THAT I DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE BOARD, NOR ARE MY OPINIONS THAT OF THE BOARD. I share my observations and opinions with you as a concerned, and involved citizen.
Thanks, "Anonymous" - good input and food for thought for a conversation about the current policy for responding to “bomb threats” and its rationale... which I'm sure we must have, but which no one seems to be quoting. Is there one? I find no matches for “bomb” or “threat” or “bomb threat” on the 9-R website. Is it in the student handbook? Without my own copy it would take a really long time to download but any parent or student should quickly see what the policy is. And the conversation in Durango would be different from conversations in Buffalo, NY or Des Moines. None of us underestimate the challenge of addressing this issue, but the legacy of leaving people in the dark means that when something, anything remotely disturbing is brought to light, people are suspicious.
A new superintendent will be able to change 9-R’s culture of “public information” from spinning to being scrupulously forthright and committed to more respectful listening.
A conversation about safety, school culture and all the challenges of nurturing all the kids, all the time (impossible) could bring us together positively. Who in our community doesn't want our children safe and thriving?
The good news is that Lashinsky immediately turned around the "booing tradition" introduced a few years ago where the entire school booed assembled freshmen as a mixed up sort of welcome. When one of us supposed "naysayers" raised the issue it ended up being defended as a fun way of building school spirit that less than 50% of the students seemed to mind...
When those of us who've created this blog have asked for conversations, safety and culture have been among the range of topics that we’ve believed better addressed WITH the community... instead of being "handled" FOR the community by administrators on 12th Street whose professional educational credentials are always deferred to. It takes a village to raise (and educate) a child. Let's hope the new super is not averse to checking in with the villagers.
Say a bomb did go off.....then what? How does one know a hoax from a serious threat? Does one know one voice on an answer machine from 1500 potential students? The procedure seems flawed to me.
Paddy is right, a school district can sue the parents of a child up to $25K (I think) for the disruption and cost of dealing with the scare.
Given that 9-R did nothing/nada when my son was violently beaten up at DHS a few years ago, with 30+ students watching, I can't imagine they will do anything to the bomb hoaxer.
A smack on the wrists perhaps? Make Mummy and Daddy pay for the 1500 letters home? A week off school to go snowboarding?
Yup....nothing too bad.
I am beginning to wonder about the reasons behind some school board members motives. When I watch Paddy speak from the heart, and speak the truth, and then see the other 6 curl up and die, or get red with anger and do their best not to shout and scream their new motions to distance themselves from Paddy....I can only ask, why?
If anybody, but a few, attended school board meetings to see what was really going on, you might wonder the same.
There was nothing fundamentally wrong with what Paddy said last night. The board (I think), violated the Sunshine Laws last night, by taking the first 30 minutes out of the board room to go and eat dinner, and presumably discuss the new motion which was presented like a horse galloping out of the gate as soon as they sat back down in the board room with their public.
Paddy might seem a little "uncouth" at times, but he is not trying to win an after dinner speech award for etiquette. He is passionate about what he sees are the faults within our system, and isn't afraid to speak his mind. Nobody else is prepared to do that. The Herald trumpet out the PIO party line that it is because Paddy was fired for "dubious" reasons. We all know the truth about why Paddy was fired, yet the PIO likes to tell everyone it was for these dubious circumstances. I would like to see the School Board put that rumour to rest, and support their fellow board member. Perhaps Paddy should open up his employment file to the Herald and get the job done, even without the support of his fellow members.
It seems to me, that becoming a board member requires following a protocol that doesn't ever get anything done. I've watched since 2000, and never seen changes made. Everyone kowtows to the superintendent, and nobody is brave enough to speak up. Joel Jones once told me that he couldn't fire the superintendent, because he was on the search committee that hired her. He also told me that we shouldn't be so harsh on the PIO, because she was "only following the superintendent's orders". I'm tired of people's pride holding them back. Stop with the ego, and deal with the evidence in hand.
Lot's of self righteous accolades and plenty of denial and that's about it.
In my opinion Paddy is right, the only time the attorney shouts foul, is if it doesn't serve the superintendent. Remember all the Mike Matheson shenanigans? In my opinion, you can bet your bottom dollar which side the attorney was working for, and it wasn't the other six board members.
Why should the board be doing the bidding of the superintendent? Surely, their job is to monitor her, and even when there are plenty of reasons why she failed BP's or EL's or other accountability measures, the board still wave their united hand and say "we are doing a great job", when if you have sat there for as many years as some of us have, you will see that is clearly untrue.
It's almost as if they are afraid for Joe Public/society in Durango to frown upon them, or take something away from them, or drop them like a hot potato for speaking the truth. No more dinner party invitations eh? Who cares? That's not why you put yourself forward to be on the board. You put yourself forward to make changes, and hold the district accountable for educating our children.
You never use the press for your benefit. Take tonight for example: you had a room full of experts to talk about the bomb scare, but what I didn't know, was that the experts were ONLY going to discuss it if a member of the public brought it up!! How ludicrous is that. When I saw the experts there, I thought: "Oh good! The board are on the ball! I don't have to waste 3 minutes of their time, I just have to sit here and listen to the explanation as to who determined not to evacuate our children, and how." The public are talking about the bomb scare and lack of evacuation on the street! In ever sector of our society! Everyone is talking about it! Do we have a policy in place? What determines whether or not it is a hoax? Do we rely on "instinct" to decide it was a hoax? That's not good enough. There are so many questions the public want to know about, and it never occurred to the board to set the record straight and tell the community. Now I'm going to get a personal phone call from the superintendent to tell me the answers to my questions, but what about the other 40,000+ community members? Will they continue to discuss yet another malfunction of the school district with innuendo and rumour?
I'd like a policy that prohibits any board member from "doing business" with the school district or large organizations connected to the school district, because I can't fathom what keeps them quiet.
What about the time DHS failed it's DAAC accountability last year, and the superintendent said: "We have been marking them wrong all these years, it would be unfair to do it right now".....and the school board followed that weird logic and passed the High School, yet according to the DAAC Committee report that year, DHS had definitely failed.
Last night I was told that 9-R was approximately $200,000.00 in the RED......when do we hear about that, or don't we?
That to me, shows there is something fundamentally wrong with our school board. They need to get a backbone and do the right thing. Stop with the "We must be united", "We cannot ruffle feathers", "It's for the good of the children"...because it's all a load of rubbish. In the 8 years I have been watching diligently, everything is still broken. And yet we were told last night, it takes years to put things right. Why? When parents and community members can see it, business owners especially. We still say our CSAP results are good, when 93% of our special ed. 10th grade students FAIL math....we still use the age old rouse of "We are compiling statistics on that", to quantify why we still fail an entire year of special ed. students in the Three R's. These students are not stupid!! Dyslexia never made anyone dumb!! We have been compiling statistics for 8 years now, and nothing good ever comes from it. Yet the board still buy in to the we have RTI and this test and that test and this monitoring and that monitoring, and we are catching them young routine. Well...I've been on the ball since 4th grade at Park Elementary, and none of those things you are fobbed off with work. There are parents of students in 10th grade only now just discovering that their darlings are dyslexic!! Ha ha ha. I can't believe you believe that all these testing/monitoring procedures work. They don't! Get with it! Put something in place that does! 8 years guys and galls! That's a lot of children being failed, but you don't "get it", because your elementary or middle school or high school students are in the AP classes. We need someone on the board with a SpEd student. That's what we need. Then we might see change.
When ARE the board going to hold the superintendent accountable? And please stop looking embarrassed when one board member out of seven asks the same questions! Good on you Paddy. At least you have a brave heart and I'm glad you don't let social etiquette numb you in to doing nothing.
One of you has a child who dropped out, and you've probably been brainwashed into thinking it was your child's fault -- it wasn't. They are dropping out today, in considerable numbers! And they "ain't all Hispanic/ELL/SpEd/free and reduced lunch students" as we are led to believe this segment of our society are to blame for us failing AYP or any test we do. Nobody can give drop out figures though, or tell us where they go -- that would be too inconvenient. Best to sweep why we are losing our children from 9-R under the AHS rug rouse that a new Charter school are responsible for "destroying our district".
It ain't about the hugs and love. We do love you, for giving so much of your time, but you have to step outside the box and get answers in order to make significant change.
We could be great. I think that's why I keep at it, because I know we have some excellent, dedicated teachers and staff. Mediocre was never my middle name. You have my father to blame for that.
What bomb scare? What lack of evacuation? First I read that the school board and the administration didn't discuss it at the board meeting, then I read the Education page today, and the superintendent thought it wiser to talk about 13" of snow!
When nobody talks about not evacuating DHS during a bomb scare, I have to ask.....why?
I chose to run for the school board for the students. No other reasons. I remember so many of them working after school, weekends and holidays to build a school program that they were stakeholders in. Parents used to call me and ask if I was having class on Saturday and Sunday, and I would say 'yes'. There were suprised that their son wanted to go to school. It was insinuated once that I was not taking roll because one student was not going to other classes, just mine. I had tests and quizes on file for him. They came into my class when he was there ......and then suspended him. HELLO. They could have told him he could stay in my class, at least he would have been coming to school and supervised...but most of all...he would be learning. I remember the students and what they accomplised in the short time I was at DHS. We had 'project based learning'. Now I never hear anything of what the Metal Fabrication class is doing.
So...when I sit on the school board and hear of programs not being adequatly funded, or being cut...I ask myself where is the money going? I ask for financial records, job descriptions, financial comparisons to ensure that the money is going into the classroom or for educational purposes. The district is operating in a financial deficit yet the board authorized another position created by the superintendant. This is public knowledge: The PIO resigned effective 010408 because she was tired and had become dispirited by negativity (Durango Herald 120607). A new position (Special Programs Manager)was opened up 010408. Who filled that position? That is public knowledge. The board has a budget of $311,554. Where and how we spend that money is important to me...as is all the districts expendatures. Don't people wonder where the money goes when we don't have adequate funding for programs and we don't pay teachers a salary that is in line with living in Durango? Students #1, Teachers #2, Support staff #3. Can we live without some of the administrative "window dressing"??? It is no secret that I am not an eloquant speaker. That does not mean that I am uneducated or don't have a basis for what I am doing. I want the public to know where their money is going. I have certain duties as a board member, certain obligations to the stakeholders. To me...it's not micro-managing; it's prudence. There is a certain 'clique' that gives me a hard time, tries to discredit me, uses character assasination, and stonewalls me. But...like I said when I was sworn in...I did not take the oath to win friends. I am secure in who I am and what I am doing. So when I get that 'negativity'....I think of all the hard work, the fun, and the learning that took place in my class. I am a grown man....I can take it. We will get a new superintendent and I am hoping that even with my uncultured attempts at being a 'politician', things will change for the better. There are people on the board who are working hard, who can see what has been going on, take the time to do the research and do make decisions based on facts. I am not against the board, but I do want to bring to light some concerns...even if they are embarrasing. I am a concerned citizen who choses to be involved with my community. I have a right to my opinion.
Google the three potential candidates. I'm only on Dr Cunningham......it all sounds so familiar!!
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Orinda schools superintendent Shalee Cunningham suspected so many parents of using fake addresses to get their kids into the high-performing district that she hired a private investigator last year to verify that students lived where they said they did.
At least 10 of them did not and were asked to leave the Contra Costa County district.
Dear Padraig, and others,
The anonymous blogs are the only ones worth reading for they are the ones that invite deconstruction and close inspection. The signed entries let you know beforehand what's coming because they're boorishly redundant and bear close resemblance to the same authors entries on subjects past. From my perspective the choice not to include one's name urges the reader to reflect on what's written, not the author...and it's the words that are important, not who wrote them. Yes, yes, it's important to have and hear from those with a unique perspective and some bloggers do have a certain intimate knowledge of the issues. But, one has to wonder whether it is knowledge being served or merely the predictable number of egos.
Dear Anonymous;
Point well taken. I can understand that someone might want their name out there for fear of retaliation (bullying) or being terminated...and some with "insider" knowledge might not want their names out there....so I certainly wouldn't want to 'close that door of information'. I have had several people phone me and talk to me telling me "good job", "it's about time someone shook them up" etc., etc. My intent is only to bring to OUR attention...that if we have policies in place...then we should follow them without discrimination. If some people can get away with breaking them and not be held accountable...then why keep them and say we are abiding by them? Either change the rules so you can follow them, or revise them. There was a "letter to the editor" 'informing' me about policy governance. I am not against policy governence. What I am against is hypocracy. The Board is the 'checks and balances' to the superintendent...but when we don't fulfill our obligation, then things get out of control and the superintendant will...eventually do whatever they please. Say for example: The superintendant wanted to create a new position (not a teacher) in administration during a fiscal deficit. To me...to keep everything honest and that there could be no liability to the district for someone who said we violated the 'equal opportunity' law. The superintendent would qualify that the position is needed, Human Resources would write a job description, finances would verify that we have the money and at what salary..and then all that would be presented to the board. The Board would verify the information and whether the position is needed and justifiable, vote......and then, if the position was opened up...then a job posting would go out, so that qualified candidates could be interviewed and hired. So what keeps a superintendent from opening a position for say family or a friend, authorizing them pay, and then...several weeks later, try to 'sneak' the position, person and pay through board approval through a consent agenda?
What the public should be concerned about is finances. When we want to fund programs that benifit students and learning, but don't have the money, you have to ask yourself...where is it being spent? On what? ...and is that necessary for the education of the students. So...no...I am not against policy governance....if the policies that are written are adheared to..and if they are antiquated or not requarded..then why have them? If we publicly declare that we will follow them...then let us do so without bias. I want to bring these things up now, so we can address them now, so there is some clarity, resolve, and direction for the new superintendant. I don't think it would be fair to hire someone...hoping that somehow they will just carry on and we can take a 'back seat' as a board. Do I want to micro-manage...NO!! Do I want accountability...YES. I have never denied (unlike others) that I don't like Barter. I don't like the way she treats the teachers and I don't like 'executive sessions' where character assasination is used for revenge and rumors spread. I have seen many great teachers leave Durango because of the way they were treated. I am well aware that some people do not like me..and that is fine, I accept that....however...don't let your dislike of me cloud your judgement of the facts I bring you. I certainly wouldn't want the board to just expect the new superintendent to come in here and fix everything without being involved. I don't speak for them, nor do I represent the board. I am writing as a concerned citizen. Padraig
Isn't that what happened to Deb Uroda? Didn't Dr. Barter create a special "job" for Uroda? I heard we were fiscally in the red, so what is the job created for Uroda, and did it ever get published, and were other people interviewed? Or was it a way of rewarding her for her "loyal" service to the superintendent?
What's so interesting about the Anonymous (I know who wrote it!) comment: "The signed entries let you know beforehand what's coming because they're boorishly redundant and bear close resemblance to the same authors entries on subjects past."--is that the superintendent and school board have ignored our request to educate ALL our dyslexic children since 1999.
I think that says more about Mary and the then school board, than....say...me.
Boorish my comments on dyslexia might be, but let's get a reality check on our High School SpEd CSAP results, (93% of our 10th grade students failed something as simple as math) and the lack of teaching across the board for dyslexic students.
Tell the 12th grade DHS student with a 4th or 5th grade reading age that my persistence to allow them the fundamental right to read or write, as you so obviously can is: "boorish".
I won't stop until someone in 9R with vision puts an actual program in place in our school district that remediates these students. When over 80% of youth in prison are illiterate....don't you think the "vision" should include all segments of our society, because as tax payers it costs over $23K a year to incarcerate a youth who was failed miserably in our school system.
We are read letters in our service club written by 12th grade DHS students thanking us for donations....and they can't even spell, their grammar is appalling, and....well, it is simply sad.
Sorry to "bore" you, but it just shows how little is done for 20% of our school district students, estimated to be dyslexic by the NIH. (Approximately 900 students).
That's a number worth looking out for...but who cares in 9R or on the board? Obviously not you. Yawn.
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