Prag-
You make some valid points. First of all, the district most assuredly needs professional help. The problem is they won?’t ask or pay for it. They insist they have all the information they need to run a successful levy campaign. They may indeed have all the information but they don?’t have a clue as to how to use it.
We do get off-topic frequently and that is mostly due to the reasons you outline. That is the inherent nature of an anonymous blog. By simply typing in Central Dad in the ?“Your Name?” block, I become Central Dad and can attempt to hijack the thread and take it anywhere I want. By typing in Pragmatic, I can insult and degrade Moms and Dads who have the best interests of this district at heart but just don?’t feel they have the means to express their thoughts and concerns publicly. That may be due to the demonstrated fact that we have a school board and administration who refuse to listen or that we have seen evidence of the children being punished for the sins of the parents or just general shyness. Open your mouth and see if your kid makes Varsity this year.
You don?’t care if it costs $50,000 to seek professional help but the board does and they are the ones who vote on spending the tax dollars. They lack the capacity to make the hard calls. They lack the nerve to stand up to each other or the administration or booster organizations and make sound business decisions. But you know what? They?’re the best we have. No one else would stand up and run for the open board seats last November. What we ended up with was the same old people who were guilt-ridden into running unopposed or just lacked the courage to stand pat and say ?“I can no longer make a difference.?” Without candidates we are forced to accept what we are given. An editor of a local paper said it best when he wrote that the voters get the government they deserve.
I totally agree that professional help is needed, no REQUIRED. How about if you make a public record request to the school district and post on this website the amount of taxpayer money spent on the failed levy campaigns to-date? Will it amount to $50,000? Probably not but it will be enough to have made a real dent in that fee.
Sorry if you feel our suggestions make no sense to you but at least we are making suggestions. The school board simply sends the same issue to the ballot again and again. There is no original thought put into their process. At least here, agree or disagree, there is always original thought. One of the synonyms of pragmatic is hard-headed, a trait you and I share. Please try to focus that hard-headedness into offering solutions instead of pointing out shortfalls. I can assure you that many members of both the board of education and the district administrative staff read this blog religiously. There are instances where secretaries print out each new posting daily and lay it on the boss?’s desk. Sometimes an idea is not good until it is your idea. Perhaps, given enough time, one of these wannabe leaders in the community will adopt one of the ideas presented in this forum and brand it as their own and we will finally see some progress.
Rest assured, I am wide awake and seeking professional help. I am seeking the help of any board member or administrator to take a hard look at some of the ideas presented in this forum and respond to us as to why or why not some of these ideas can or cannot work.
By Central Dad
You make some valid points. First of all, the district most assuredly needs professional help. The problem is they won?’t ask or pay for it. They insist they have all the information they need to run a successful levy campaign. They may indeed have all the information but they don?’t have a clue as to how to use it.
We do get off-topic frequently and that is mostly due to the reasons you outline. That is the inherent nature of an anonymous blog. By simply typing in Central Dad in the ?“Your Name?” block, I become Central Dad and can attempt to hijack the thread and take it anywhere I want. By typing in Pragmatic, I can insult and degrade Moms and Dads who have the best interests of this district at heart but just don?’t feel they have the means to express their thoughts and concerns publicly. That may be due to the demonstrated fact that we have a school board and administration who refuse to listen or that we have seen evidence of the children being punished for the sins of the parents or just general shyness. Open your mouth and see if your kid makes Varsity this year.
You don?’t care if it costs $50,000 to seek professional help but the board does and they are the ones who vote on spending the tax dollars. They lack the capacity to make the hard calls. They lack the nerve to stand up to each other or the administration or booster organizations and make sound business decisions. But you know what? They?’re the best we have. No one else would stand up and run for the open board seats last November. What we ended up with was the same old people who were guilt-ridden into running unopposed or just lacked the courage to stand pat and say ?“I can no longer make a difference.?” Without candidates we are forced to accept what we are given. An editor of a local paper said it best when he wrote that the voters get the government they deserve.
I totally agree that professional help is needed, no REQUIRED. How about if you make a public record request to the school district and post on this website the amount of taxpayer money spent on the failed levy campaigns to-date? Will it amount to $50,000? Probably not but it will be enough to have made a real dent in that fee.
Sorry if you feel our suggestions make no sense to you but at least we are making suggestions. The school board simply sends the same issue to the ballot again and again. There is no original thought put into their process. At least here, agree or disagree, there is always original thought. One of the synonyms of pragmatic is hard-headed, a trait you and I share. Please try to focus that hard-headedness into offering solutions instead of pointing out shortfalls. I can assure you that many members of both the board of education and the district administrative staff read this blog religiously. There are instances where secretaries print out each new posting daily and lay it on the boss?’s desk. Sometimes an idea is not good until it is your idea. Perhaps, given enough time, one of these wannabe leaders in the community will adopt one of the ideas presented in this forum and brand it as their own and we will finally see some progress.
Rest assured, I am wide awake and seeking professional help. I am seeking the help of any board member or administrator to take a hard look at some of the ideas presented in this forum and respond to us as to why or why not some of these ideas can or cannot work.
By Central Dad
