A few days ago the board met in a Design Overview meeting. At this meeting we discussed renovations at various schools. We are able to tour several of these newly renovated schools on August 3rd, traveling by bus. I suggested that we ride in a non-air-conditioned bus. This is just 5 days before school starts and 70% of our students will be riding on these buses. I am concerned for the safety of our students in this crazy heat. By riding the bus ourselves we can access if this is manageable, what steps need to be taken to make the ride more comfortable, and how hot does it really get. I barely got the entire thought out before a board member stated she would drive herself if we had to ride without A.C. I am not going to mention names, but 4 board members refused the idea.
I want to remind everyone, these just aren't your kids on these buses, they are mine too. I have a fair skinned little red-head that gets heat exhaustion quicker than we can catch it. I want to see how bad it really will be. But 4 board members feel they are too good to be placed in that situation. The same situation they feel is ok to place your child, my child in on a daily basis. There is something that really gets me about the fact that none of the board members that refused have small children anymore. In fact, one has never had children. So I guess they have no real reason to care. To say the least, I'm a little hot about it. :)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
My time HAS come
Another blow.
Committee assignments came out today. We have 4 committees and a board member chairs each committee, this can not be the board president.
I asked to be given the opportunity to chair a committee. Any committee.
That request was denied. I have a few concerns with this.
1) In just over a year, there will be another School Board Election. If by chance all 4 board membes up for re-election lose, that leaves only three seasoned board members. Two of them, myself included, have been prevented from having any kind of leadership on the board. No experience chairing a committee or running a meeting. If the president of the board was really looking out for the best interest of the students, wouldn't they want ALL board members to be prepared???
2)What are they so afraid of? Seriously! What (or who) are they protecting?
3) This can't be what the people want. I don't hear the public screaming, "Great job IPS, keep doing everything the SAME!!!"
4) We are 7 elected officials and all need to represent the people. If it were meant to only have 4 opinions, then the board would have had only 4 members. Let us do our job.
So, here are the appointments from last year....
And this year.....
I just received this today. So, I decided to call the president of the board and ask why my request was denied.
I was told many reasons. It went something like this.....
There are only 4 chair positions. (Yes, but why must the same people chair every time????)
Your behavior and comments the other night were out of line and rude. (Remember, I told them to shove it next time they wanted to talk to be about being a team. I said this after it was evident the four of the went behind our backs and made all the decisions without including us.)
The others will do a better job. ( how do you know unless I get the opportunity)
Your time will come. (What????)
At this moment I assured the president that my time HAD come. It came when I was elected.
The president of the board isn't doing this for these reasons. I assure you. This is because I am not "with" them. This is because I vote against the Superintendent. This is because I speak my mind and they don't like it.
IPS hasn't been criticized this much by the public in years. Our schools are on take-over lists. And I assure you it isn't because of me. My time has come, and it is now.
Committee assignments came out today. We have 4 committees and a board member chairs each committee, this can not be the board president.
I asked to be given the opportunity to chair a committee. Any committee.
That request was denied. I have a few concerns with this.
1) In just over a year, there will be another School Board Election. If by chance all 4 board membes up for re-election lose, that leaves only three seasoned board members. Two of them, myself included, have been prevented from having any kind of leadership on the board. No experience chairing a committee or running a meeting. If the president of the board was really looking out for the best interest of the students, wouldn't they want ALL board members to be prepared???
2)What are they so afraid of? Seriously! What (or who) are they protecting?
3) This can't be what the people want. I don't hear the public screaming, "Great job IPS, keep doing everything the SAME!!!"
4) We are 7 elected officials and all need to represent the people. If it were meant to only have 4 opinions, then the board would have had only 4 members. Let us do our job.
So, here are the appointments from last year....
| EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE | RESOURCES COMMITTEE | |
| Chairperson - Commissioner Arnold | Chairperson - Commissioner Busch | |
| Commissioner Roof | Commissioner Brown | |
| Commissioner Zaphiriou | Commissioner Roof | |
| Ex Officio - President Gore | Ex Officio - President Gore | |
| LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE | POLICY COMMITTEE | |
| Chairperson - Commissioner Zaphiriou | Chairperson - Commissioner Brown | |
| Commissioner Adair-White | Commissioner Adair-White | |
| Commissioner Busch | Commissioner Arnold | |
| Ex Officio - President Gore | Ex Officio - President Gore |
And this year.....
| EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE | RESOURCES COMMITTEE | |
| Chairperson - Commissioner Arnold | Chairperson - Commissioner Zaphiriou | |
| Commissioner Adair-White | Commissioner Gore | |
| Commissioner Zaphiriou | Commissioner Roof | |
| Ex Officio - President Busch | Ex Officio - President Busch | |
| LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE | POLICY COMMITTEE | |
| Chairperson - Commissioner Gore | Chairperson - Commissioner Brown | |
| Commissioner Arnold | Commissioner Adair-White | |
| Commissioner Brown | Commissioner Roof | |
| Ex Officio - President Busch | Ex Officio - President Busch |
I just received this today. So, I decided to call the president of the board and ask why my request was denied.
I was told many reasons. It went something like this.....
There are only 4 chair positions. (Yes, but why must the same people chair every time????)
Your behavior and comments the other night were out of line and rude. (Remember, I told them to shove it next time they wanted to talk to be about being a team. I said this after it was evident the four of the went behind our backs and made all the decisions without including us.)
The others will do a better job. ( how do you know unless I get the opportunity)
Your time will come. (What????)
At this moment I assured the president that my time HAD come. It came when I was elected.
The president of the board isn't doing this for these reasons. I assure you. This is because I am not "with" them. This is because I vote against the Superintendent. This is because I speak my mind and they don't like it.
IPS hasn't been criticized this much by the public in years. Our schools are on take-over lists. And I assure you it isn't because of me. My time has come, and it is now.
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Broken Board
Yes, I am finally saying it out loud.
A year ago I started this journey of serving on the IPS school board. I knew there were problems and I knew there would be some roadblocks. I assumed there would be personality differences. But I had no idea the board was broken. You may wonder, what does that mean? Well, there are 7 elected officials. Five serving districts and two at large. Each Board member represents those persons in their district. (They are suppose to listen and represent their constituents.) Three of the longest serving board members ran unopposed in their last elections.
It is no secret that the board is usually split. Sometimes 5-2 sometimes 4-3. The same four ALWAYS being on the same side, the side of the Superintendent. In fact, one board member has said that they will NEVER vote against the Super. And those that do are met with criticism, insult, and are excluded. I am not talking about a Jr. High kind of exclusion, I could care less about being someone's friend. But we have been excluded from emails, conversations, and important information is not being shared.
Most recently I saw how dysfunctional this board is. These 4 board members hijacked the process of electing officers of the board. Two members, on the other side of the split, showed interest in holding the president and vice president spot. Those 4 wouldn't allow that. The same members are just rotating the positions and not allowing anyone new to sit in these seats.
Here is a list of the officers from past several years. It's like Groundhog Day.
2011-2012 President Busch, Vice Brown.
2010-2011 President Gore, Vice Zaphiriou.
2009-2010 President Brown, Vice Gore.
2008-2009 President Busch, Vice Zaphiriou.
2007-2008 President Busch, Vice Zaphirou.
2006-2007 President Campbell, Vice Busch.
2005-2006 President Brown, Vice Campbell.
The public is NOT being represented by this board. Those 4 board members are silencing the other three, in effect, silencing the public we represent. At a time when the public is begging for change and IPS has 7 failing schools, one would think we would think outside the box and try new leadership on the board. This is simply another year lost. I apologize to the people of this city and I fear for our children.
A year ago I started this journey of serving on the IPS school board. I knew there were problems and I knew there would be some roadblocks. I assumed there would be personality differences. But I had no idea the board was broken. You may wonder, what does that mean? Well, there are 7 elected officials. Five serving districts and two at large. Each Board member represents those persons in their district. (They are suppose to listen and represent their constituents.) Three of the longest serving board members ran unopposed in their last elections.
It is no secret that the board is usually split. Sometimes 5-2 sometimes 4-3. The same four ALWAYS being on the same side, the side of the Superintendent. In fact, one board member has said that they will NEVER vote against the Super. And those that do are met with criticism, insult, and are excluded. I am not talking about a Jr. High kind of exclusion, I could care less about being someone's friend. But we have been excluded from emails, conversations, and important information is not being shared.
Most recently I saw how dysfunctional this board is. These 4 board members hijacked the process of electing officers of the board. Two members, on the other side of the split, showed interest in holding the president and vice president spot. Those 4 wouldn't allow that. The same members are just rotating the positions and not allowing anyone new to sit in these seats.
Here is a list of the officers from past several years. It's like Groundhog Day.
2011-2012 President Busch, Vice Brown.
2010-2011 President Gore, Vice Zaphiriou.
2009-2010 President Brown, Vice Gore.
2008-2009 President Busch, Vice Zaphiriou.
2007-2008 President Busch, Vice Zaphirou.
2006-2007 President Campbell, Vice Busch.
2005-2006 President Brown, Vice Campbell.
The public is NOT being represented by this board. Those 4 board members are silencing the other three, in effect, silencing the public we represent. At a time when the public is begging for change and IPS has 7 failing schools, one would think we would think outside the box and try new leadership on the board. This is simply another year lost. I apologize to the people of this city and I fear for our children.
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