This video was posted on Facebook from a few community members. Watching this video and reading the transcript, I hope we can move on from board hearsay, third party assumptions, and general mistrust. The new leadership team that will be selected in the next year has a tremendous opportunity to do just that. I am confident we can all move on from these pointed attacks and attract strong leaders.
Transcript at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqWeG-RwggA
Also, this letter was written to Fosters over the weekend.
To the editor: This is an open letter to the Oyster River Cooperative School District School Board.
Thursday night's buyout of Howard Colter's contract combined with the high school principal situation is clearly bringing into question the recent actions of the school board. My letter today won't do that.
Clearly the members of the board are reasonable people and have a vested interest in seeing ORCSD flourish and thrive. To me, that means the board's recent actions are serving that purpose in their minds.
The problem is that we (the people and parents) aren't really clear on the overreaching agenda of the board. If we were, then perhaps the recurring questioning of individual actions may cease (or at least significantly diminish).
Don't get me wrong, I understand that the board has the right to keep many of its internal processes confidential. There are very good reasons for this. However, in light of the current state of affairs, a healthy dose of transparency (and, if necessary, a simple "me a culpa") may well-serve to rebuild the community's trust in our school board.
I was also at all of those strategic planning meetings, until the demands became too much for my family toward the end. I hope that as Laura suggested, we put those words to practice. The teachers, parents, and administrators on the committee worked very hard, and it would be a great place to start as we move forward.
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