OR Board makes some wise choices

Finally...Foster's posts something positive about ORCSD!
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On Wednesday the Oyster River School Board took two important steps in lessening the tension that has surrounded its recent failure to hire a new principal.

First the board opted to fill the position temporarily with someone currently on staff, but who has the necessary credentials.

Second, board members gracefully agreed to a request by students that they not participate in graduation ceremonies on June 10. It was a role that in recent years saw a board member help pass out diplomas.

While both measures will be criticized in come corners of the Oyster River body politic, something needed to be done to calm the district's collective nerves.

While the board has been on a political roller coaster for the past few years, things really hit the skids when the board recently rejected Superintendent Howard Colter's nominee for principal. In the process, a weak statement as to its reasons released by the board only served to roil the community — student body included.

Subsequent School Board meetings and statements only seemed to aggravate the situation.

Now, board members have taken a deep breath — a time out, if you will. They have given students, many of whom had walked out over the failure to hire Colter's nominee, their space. 

Meanwhile they have given themselves time to regroup and come back to the issue of hiring a permanent replacement next year. They have also wisely left the door open in the event the interim principal works out by not banning that person from applying.

None of this will stop the second-guess ing which has become du jour. Some will continue to blame the upheaval on a small group of dissidents, led by those previously defeated for positions on the School Board.

After watching and reading about recent School Board meetings, Foster's Daily Democrat believes even newly elected and longer-term School Board members recognize they have a problem, independent of outside troublemakers.

This, in part, may have driven the decision to step back from graduation ceremonies and hire an interim principal. Whether this is the case, members of the Oyster River School now have a chance to regroup and move foreword in a more orderly and productive manner.

It is a wise choice that should be supported by critics and skeptics. 


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Letter from Board to Students:


Congratulations to each of you on the eve of your graduation. You have so much to be proud of as you mark one of life's great milestones, and as Board members, community members and parents, we are proud of you, too.

This is your time, and graduation is your day. To make absolutely certain the focus of the ceremony is where it belongs, we agree that it is best to do as you have asked and put a pause on the current tradition of having a board member pass out diplomas to students. Instead, we will be among the loudest voices in the audience cheering you on.

Each of you represents a tradition of excellence at Oyster River High School and in our district as a whole. It's a tradition to which all of us in the community are devoted, and which will keep our district strong through the turbulence that comes with change.

Class of 2011, we salute you! See you on graduation day.

Sincerely,
The ORCSD School Board

James Kach

Ann Wright

Megan Turnbull

Henry Brackett

Ann Lane

Krista Butts

Jocelyn O'Quinn