Supports board
To the editor: I am writing to voice my support for the Oyster River Cooperative School District School Board. I attended the meeting held on April 13. I watched the board respectfully listen to an impassioned segment of their constituency articulating displeasure with the recent decision not to offer a contract to a potential high school principal. One speaker pointedly stated that the board "failed the students."
By law our youth are entitled to an adequate education. That education is provided by the taxpayers. Notice I did not say voters. The voters have the luxury of spending other people's money while deciding many issues including the quality of education afforded by our local schools. The taxpayers make those decisions reality. The students, teachers and administrators are the beneficiaries, good or bad, of that reality.
Our School Board has the unenviable task of balancing the requirements of the state with the wishes of the students, the teachers, the administrators, the voters and the taxpayers. They have to weigh an esoteric, "quality education" against the very real possibility of taxing some of our neighbors out of our community. They have each volunteered their time and efforts and stepped forward into the spotlight, braving public opinion and ridicule, to do our bidding. I believe that each has accepted their charge for truly altruistic reasons. I believe each board member is committed to maintaining the high quality of education we provide in our district. I have faith in each member to vote their conscience and I respect and appreciate them all for doing so.
Did the School Board fail anyone by not approving the superintendent's recommendation? Obviously some folks were disappointed they didn't get what they wanted, but I don't have all the information, so I honestly don't know. I do know I was impressed and heartened to witness the exemplary way the School Board as a whole moved forward as a unified body, following the closest of votes on a contentious issue, respecting the process, the community they serve and each other. We can all learn from their example.
Steve Nadeau
Durham
"youth are entitled to an adequate education"-Well that certainly seems to be what this school board is aiming for considering their vote and their actions that caused the opening in the first place.
ReplyDelete“Our School Board has the unenviable task of balancing the requirements of the state with the wishes of the students, the teachers, the administrators, the voters and the taxpayers. They have to weigh an esoteric, "quality education" against the very real possibility of taxing some of our neighbors out of our community. They have each volunteered their time and efforts and stepped forward into the spotlight, braving public opinion and ridicule, to do our bidding. I believe that each has accepted their charge for truly altruistic reasons. I believe each board member is committed to maintaining the high quality of education we provide in our district. I have faith in each member to vote their conscience and I respect and appreciate them all for doing so.”
ReplyDeleteFor what’s its worth, I completely agree with this paragraph. I would love to add that, not only can/are taxes pushing people out of the district, but extreme educational costs put the entire system in jeopardy. Eventually there is a breaking point, and nearly always ~regardless of the type of industry~ that means a reduction in employed staff.
We can all agree how important education is, but it’s not free. It has to be supported not just emotionally but financially by the citizens of the three towns. There is no shame in being efficient or even frugal with both costs and expectations of cost while still expecting a great school district.