Wednesday, May 6, 2009

School Board to discuss trimming programs

The School Board meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 14 to discuss the Education Plan for next year has been moved to the High School at 4pm. According to Schools Music Director Dennis Farmer, the board will be considering recommendations to decrease the orchestra teacher position to five-sevenths and cutting the compter graphics teacher position completely. There are a few other computer classes at the high school, but not enough, and kids are often closed out of them year after year.

"My concerns are the woeful lack of computer offerings here already and the difficulty they will have hiring a quality orchestra person part time with no benefits," Farmer wrote in a widely circulated email.

According to concerned parent Theresa Mayer in another widely circulated email, they will also be looking at special ed services.

Both are urging concerned voters to attend the meeting if they can and/or contact the board members with their input:

Aida Merhemic , President
767-9280
aidamerhemic@sbcglobal.net

Anne Erickson, Vice President
767-1976
midwifeanne@aol.com

Sean Creighton, Member
767-9068
screighton@phd.antioch.edu

Richard Lapedes, Member
767-1285
richardL@lionapparel.com

Angela Wright, Member
767-8435
wright3955@sbcglobal.net

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think this story is a sad example of how Yellow Springs uses what has been dubbed "posse politics."

Posse Politics works like this:
Someone with a personal agenda (in this example, a teacher hoping to force the Board to make a particular decision in his favor). Friends are rounded up, given position points and the posse packs a public meeting to one after another proclaim support for said position. Often the YS News gets in the act by highlighting the emotional conten, downplaying larger principles (like the fact that there aren't enough students to support every subject wanted in a small school). The decision becomes a "controversy" and we're all encouraged to take sides.

This bullying process turns important decisions into "controversies" that nobody wins. It's corrosive.

We elect the Board do what's best for the schools. We can't expect them to also satisfy every parent or teacher's individual demands. Can we?