Smoaky: Thanks for the letter. Your opinion about rumors etc is right on. I am a school board member and there is a lot of information on here about decisions that boards and supt. have to make and people don't understand the awesome responsiblity we have as boards. They don't understand legal aspects of dismissal etc. Thanks for your time. CNN

Awesome responsibiltiy? If there was any awesome responsibility to being on a board, there would be some real requirements to being on there. Like teaching you have to have a degree, some training. A board member has to have nothing, no requirements to this awesome responsibility. Now if I were some farmer, some construction worker, some local business owner, and I just walked into the classroom, yes, I would think it was some awesome responsibility, some great task that I have to face. But being trained to do that, to teach, it really is much easier, I think I do it pretty well. And the reason is because I have training and experience. Now if I didn't, well then I would be in the same position most board members are. Trying to do something they have no training or experience doing. Maybe I will just show up to some court room today and see if some murder will let me represent his case. Ha, now that would be awesome responsibility. Get my point. If boards would do what they are qualified to do, listen to the sup and prin. there would be very little problems. When you start your personal agendas well that is a different story. But please don't try and play it off like it is some tremendous responsibility, it is actually quite simple.

Nice attack there Locutas.

You have obviosly mistaken responsibility for qualifications. ALL school board members have an awesome responsibility, that being to run the district to the best of their abilities so as to provide the best education that can be provided for the students therein. Some are more qualified than others, some better at it than others. But the school board system is set up the way it should be. Local residents dictating the direction the district should go, within the guideline laid out by the state.

Whether a school board member is good at what he/she does has nothing to do with the responsibility he/she assumes when he/she is elected. The responsibility exists regardless. He/she either accepts it or he/she doesn't. The board member is either good at it and executes the duties of the position well, or he/she does not.

But the responsibility is always there.

Just wondering, why would you take that post so personally? Why would you view it as an attack on teachers, which is what you insinuated?

Excellent post Bleeds. Really made me think. Seriously. But I do disagree to a degree.

1st. Yes in principle the idea of local control, and a group guiding the school is good and correct. In theory it is a good thought. True one can be really bad at the duty or obligation he or she has taken on, but still think it is the big picture I am talking about. A school has teachers, admin, etc.. If the board listens to those qualified, yes qualified, then things can and should work rather smoothly. It is the responsibility of the board to NOT put personal agendas into the fray. This is where 99% of problems occur. Most board members if responsible know they are not qualified to make many of the decisions facing them. Hence, the sup, who is qualified and trained to guide them in simply putting procedures, personnel, etc... into policy. I think you are combining the responsibility of the position, with the resonsibility of the individual. I think most board member fail miserably in the latter.

2nd. I really don't take it personal. But then I guess I do to a sense. I have seen a lot of really good people hurt in this business. I am not a fan of boards. I think they do far more damage than good. Just a personal opinion. And I think everything is an attack on teachers today. Kids, failing, teacher fault, kid on crack, teacher fault, kid absent, teacher fault. The in thing today is blame the teacher. The whole idea of responsibility in our society today is a joke. Which was my point to begin with. Most boards do not take the responsibility of running a school as it should be, they place their own agendas before that.

3rd Sorry it comes across as an attack. Schools would be much better off without boards, in my opinion. Well all they should be able to do is the money. We can afford it or not. That's it. In twenty years of knowing dealing etc... with boards, I could count on one hand the good members, ones who really took that awesome responsibility the way it should be.

^You and I agree on most points. This may boil down to semantics; responsibility vs execution. I liken responsibility to a hill. The ultimate goal in on the other side of the hill, and whether the goal is achieved, the hill is still there. The responsibility of executing what is best for the district comes with the job. It is up to the individual, and thus the board as to whether the goal is achieved and/or how it is achieved.

IMO, the board, theoretically offers checks and balances to admin/faculty. A superintendent or faculty member can have a personal agenda just as easily as a board member. What about a more liberal superintendent who wishes to introduce alternative lifestyle curriculum into the classroom? A board can keep that from happening. And while you are correct that the admin/faculty member has training and education behind him/her, that does not lessen the possibility that he/she may have a personal agenda.

Now, so you will be clear, I do agree that many board members do have personal agendas. I've seen that play itself out on the sports field/court too many times. Teams lose because players play based solely on the fact they are the child of a board member, while other more talented kids ride the pine.

So, what to do? Not sure. I believe you have to have the board so (theoretically again) the voice of the people of the district is represented. On the other hand, in many cases, you have a board filled with people with personal agendas. Checks and balances are necessary, but in order to get them, you run the chance of having a board filled with a bunch of yayhoos trying to get Jr. some playing time.

And before you ask, no, I'm not a board member. Thought about, but I love my wife and don't want her to divorce me, which is what I fear would happen if I ran for school board.

My only solution to the problem would be to restrict membership to those who don't have kids in school. That way, the aspect of pressure from the board to show favoritism is eliminated. I know there are many other aspects, but that could be a start.

Nice discussion.

Get it Bleeds.

PLaya is always trying to stir something up...........