Saturday, September 10, 2005
Monrovia School Link Preview ~ Number 139 ~ September 10, 2005
Here are a few items from the agenda for this Wednesday's meeting, plus a letter from candidate Ed Gililland clarifying a couple points from our interview, and another letter on busing.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
The next school board meeting is this Wednesday, September 14, at the district offices.
First up are two study sessions and a closed session.
The first study session, starting at 5:45 p.m., is to provide public comment on what the board will discuss in closed session, which will be a "Performance Evaluation Review for Superintendent / District Administrators, and negotiation of Compensation of Superintendent with designated representative."
After the board gets out of that closed session, it'll hold another study session, this one to figure out what to do to about the board vacancy caused by Betty Sandford resigning.
At the regular meeting at 7 p.m., the board will:
- Get a report from the superintendent about enrollment and staffing.
- Accept gifts from some businesses, including Assael BMW, which donated 74 parts bins worth $7,400 to the MHS auto shop program.
- Get a report on the latest state and federal student achievement test results from the 2004-05 school year.
- Hire a company to do some heating and air conditioning work at Mayflower, Monroe and Wild Rose elementary schools.
- Vote on whether to ratify agreements with various employee associations.
- "Announce the Board’s intention to reappoint Ms. Lupe Davis as the Board of Education appointee to the Personnel Commission and to set October 26, 2005, as the date for a public hearing regarding the reappointment of Ms. Davis."
LETTER: CLARIFICATIONS ~ Brad, thanks for the opportunity to talk to you and for the nice write-up you did following the interview. I have been misquoted many time by reporters when I have talked to them about Forest Service issues as I have served as a fire information officer. Therefore, I always read interviews with some trepidation wondering if I have been able to convey the right message or if the reporter will report something completely different than I was saying. Your write-up was fair and right on target except for one small item. It is fairly minor, but some people could misinterpret what is being said. You reported that I said my second priority is "getting the right teachers and resources in place". I think the board needs to "insure that the right teachers and resources are in place". Like I said, that is a minor difference in wording, but we have a lot of great teachers in place and I want them to know we appreciate them. Also, the board needs to oversee the overseers, not take the role of putting teachers in place.
I would also like to clarify my comment that you have been negative in the past. I am okay with divergent opinions and negative responses to some of the things that have been done wrong or even that you perceive have been done wrong. My issue is with personal attacks on those dedicated individuals who serve on the school board without pay, giving up their time because they do care about the schools and the community. Constructive criticism doesn't have to be personal. On the whole I think your more recent issues have been better at striking this balance than some of the earlier issues I read.
- Ed Gililland
LETTER: BUSES ARE BETTER ~ I am wondering if Janis Johnson wrote her letter about busing before or after Monday, when Americans got a wake-up call that we have a poverty crisis in this good land of ours.
First, consider the role of the public school system. The role of public schools in America is to provide the opportunity of education to every child, in spite of the prejudices their community may have toward them. What do you think "no child left behind" means? As we have witnessed, the lack of a good education leads to poverty. Poverty undermines America's communities. Guess what - there are people struggling to get by in our own community too. Consider for one moment and imagine that there are Monrovia families in which both parents are holding down one or more jobs AND who may have to take the bus to work themselves, maybe you can see that not everyone lives in a comfy single family home with lots of cars and a stay-at-home parent to act as chauffeur. Not everyone is like you.
Second, consider the history of school bus programs. You act like school bus programs are some new fangled idea. They have been around for decades in every part of the country. Before Prop 13 was passed in 1977, school bus programs were in effect everywhere in California - I took a bus to high school and my family had plenty of money and two cars. Have you ever thought that buses might actually be a better way for ALL children to get to school? You wouldn't see the traffic congestion, exhaust from idling cars, and dangerous conditions in the front of our schools every morning and afternoon. And, the school personnel wouldn't be spending their valuable time acting as traffic cops. At one point in our history, we valued education enough that we were willing to spend our tax dollars making sure every child got to school - rich, middle class, and poor. What's happened to us?
Finally, what really leaves me cold is the obvious lack of compassion for our neighbors in this so-called Christian community of ours. I was in tears as I sat in the board room that night and cried for them. What kind of community do we have if we're not willing to take care of each other? Are Monrovians that self-centered and selfish? I hope and pray not.
- Anne McIntosh
Also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
Here are a few items from the agenda for this Wednesday's meeting, plus a letter from candidate Ed Gililland clarifying a couple points from our interview, and another letter on busing.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
The next school board meeting is this Wednesday, September 14, at the district offices.
First up are two study sessions and a closed session.
The first study session, starting at 5:45 p.m., is to provide public comment on what the board will discuss in closed session, which will be a "Performance Evaluation Review for Superintendent / District Administrators, and negotiation of Compensation of Superintendent with designated representative."
After the board gets out of that closed session, it'll hold another study session, this one to figure out what to do to about the board vacancy caused by Betty Sandford resigning.
At the regular meeting at 7 p.m., the board will:
- Get a report from the superintendent about enrollment and staffing.
- Accept gifts from some businesses, including Assael BMW, which donated 74 parts bins worth $7,400 to the MHS auto shop program.
- Get a report on the latest state and federal student achievement test results from the 2004-05 school year.
- Hire a company to do some heating and air conditioning work at Mayflower, Monroe and Wild Rose elementary schools.
- Vote on whether to ratify agreements with various employee associations.
- "Announce the Board’s intention to reappoint Ms. Lupe Davis as the Board of Education appointee to the Personnel Commission and to set October 26, 2005, as the date for a public hearing regarding the reappointment of Ms. Davis."
LETTER: CLARIFICATIONS ~ Brad, thanks for the opportunity to talk to you and for the nice write-up you did following the interview. I have been misquoted many time by reporters when I have talked to them about Forest Service issues as I have served as a fire information officer. Therefore, I always read interviews with some trepidation wondering if I have been able to convey the right message or if the reporter will report something completely different than I was saying. Your write-up was fair and right on target except for one small item. It is fairly minor, but some people could misinterpret what is being said. You reported that I said my second priority is "getting the right teachers and resources in place". I think the board needs to "insure that the right teachers and resources are in place". Like I said, that is a minor difference in wording, but we have a lot of great teachers in place and I want them to know we appreciate them. Also, the board needs to oversee the overseers, not take the role of putting teachers in place.
I would also like to clarify my comment that you have been negative in the past. I am okay with divergent opinions and negative responses to some of the things that have been done wrong or even that you perceive have been done wrong. My issue is with personal attacks on those dedicated individuals who serve on the school board without pay, giving up their time because they do care about the schools and the community. Constructive criticism doesn't have to be personal. On the whole I think your more recent issues have been better at striking this balance than some of the earlier issues I read.
- Ed Gililland
LETTER: BUSES ARE BETTER ~ I am wondering if Janis Johnson wrote her letter about busing before or after Monday, when Americans got a wake-up call that we have a poverty crisis in this good land of ours.
First, consider the role of the public school system. The role of public schools in America is to provide the opportunity of education to every child, in spite of the prejudices their community may have toward them. What do you think "no child left behind" means? As we have witnessed, the lack of a good education leads to poverty. Poverty undermines America's communities. Guess what - there are people struggling to get by in our own community too. Consider for one moment and imagine that there are Monrovia families in which both parents are holding down one or more jobs AND who may have to take the bus to work themselves, maybe you can see that not everyone lives in a comfy single family home with lots of cars and a stay-at-home parent to act as chauffeur. Not everyone is like you.
Second, consider the history of school bus programs. You act like school bus programs are some new fangled idea. They have been around for decades in every part of the country. Before Prop 13 was passed in 1977, school bus programs were in effect everywhere in California - I took a bus to high school and my family had plenty of money and two cars. Have you ever thought that buses might actually be a better way for ALL children to get to school? You wouldn't see the traffic congestion, exhaust from idling cars, and dangerous conditions in the front of our schools every morning and afternoon. And, the school personnel wouldn't be spending their valuable time acting as traffic cops. At one point in our history, we valued education enough that we were willing to spend our tax dollars making sure every child got to school - rich, middle class, and poor. What's happened to us?
Finally, what really leaves me cold is the obvious lack of compassion for our neighbors in this so-called Christian community of ours. I was in tears as I sat in the board room that night and cried for them. What kind of community do we have if we're not willing to take care of each other? Are Monrovians that self-centered and selfish? I hope and pray not.
- Anne McIntosh
Also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
Comments:
I nearly stood up and cheered after I read this letter. Thanks so much to Anne for so clearly stating the views of (hopefully) the majority of Monrovians. Ms. Johnson needs to take off her blinders and recognize how utterly self involved and out of touch her opinion appeared to be. Might I suggest filling a bag with food and dropping it off at the Foothill Unity center to feed a family right here in Monrovia that more than not goes without. It'll feed your soul Ms. Johnson ~sounds like you could use it.
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