She’s Actually shocked that Nobody Cares
D11 school board member Jan Tanner claims to be upset over the fact that there just isn’t any interest in this year’s school board race. The obvious question is: why would anyone be the least bit interested in this group of vacuous and idealess candidates?
Let’s look at the top priorities of these over-achievers and see if we can figure out why there is an overwhelming disinterest in the community. Jan, we will start with you.
Top priority for Jan Tanner? “To continue the stability and civility of the school board.” Wow, slow down. Why take such a giant leap towards educational excellence with that goal? Maybe people just don’t believe that anyone could have such an impressive goal for a leadership-starved school district. This goal ought to bring the district to heights yet unseen. Go for it, Jan. I never realized that you had such vision. How about another great goal? “…direct maximum resources to the classroom.” This is a good one, Jan. I wonder how you will reconcile this goal with your support for disbanding site based management, which would have directed maximum resources to the classroom. I wonder how you will reconcile this goal with your collusion with Karen Teja when she handed ex-superintendent Sharon Thomas a $750,000 golden parachute in her contract. As treasurer at the time, you sure helped the classroom teachers by helping to insert that 6-figure giveaway into the supe’s contract. I wonder if this is why people just aren’t excited about your candidacy. So many accomplishments to date, so many ideas. Wait, here’s another good one: “facilitate meaningful parent and community engagement.” Remember back when you sued the state because parents were to be empowered with allowing their tax dollars to follow their children to the schools of their choice? Is this what you mean by meaningful parent engagement? Do you really mean that you would empower parents to do what the education bureaucracy tells them to do with their own money and schools? I can just feel the excitement building around your campaign.
Let’s look at Charlie Bobbitt. Jan Tanner says that she can’t stand Charlie because he doesn’t even open his board packet before he attends his pre-meeting board buffet. I’ll bet Charlie has some great ideas for D11. In fact, his first idea is similar to Jan’s: “To continue being a positive voice for all of School District 11.” There you go. He will continue to be a positive voice for D11. Every parent can probably feel the academic performance of their district rising quickly by just uttering those strong words. Why does Jan dislike Charlie? Sounds as if these two education experts are working off of the same ambitious worksheet.
Delia Busby is back again. Delia, who makes her living by suing D11 or by charging the tax payers for educational consultant services that she does not perform, must have some very ambitious goals for the district this time around: “I have a record of efforts to maintain strong neighborhood schools. Geography should not determine whether a school is good or not.” Whoa, a record of efforts. How do you top that? The fact that Delia was serving on the board while D11 had the 2d worst performance of any school district in the county is apparently irrelevant. Delia had efforts. The good news is that if Delia is elected again, Sandra Mann will not be the only board member to show up for board meetings after having consumed large amounts of alcohol. They might as well. Nothing of importance ever happens there anymore anyway.
As for Tom Strand, I already pointed out that he is the voucher guy who is being run by Karen Teja. He will certainly ensure that employees once again get the right to vouchers for their kids. This ought to bring about public excitement.
Then there is Bob Null. Old Bob just wants to be elected to something. He runs around the community chasing election after election, hoping to become an important elected official. If anyone can figure out what on earth he wrote for his priorities, I am sure that there might be something to get excited about, but I just haven’t been able to decipher what he wrote just yet: “Restore confidence in the integrity and capabilities for educational excellence for all children; make the budget/expenditure process much more open to the public; budget allocations: salaries, students, facilities, staff, IT, safety/security, environment; graduation and dropout rates; disparities in student grades across the district; slow/stop the enrollment hemorrhaging.” Probably some good stuff in there somewhere.
Chryese Exline wants to close the achievement gap. How she would do this, she doesn’t say. Considering that she is a close friend to John (it’s all about me) Gudvangen, her plan will likely be to bring down the achievement of the top achievers to the lowest common denominator, thereby achieving her goal of closing that gap. Why work hard when mediocrity is so much easier?
That leaves Willie Breazell. Willie wants to actually improve the district, but that makes him a threat to the liberal do-nothing establishment. We simply won’t tolerate a single person on this board who will point out the continuing failures of this ½ billion dollar school district. That just isn’t positive enough.
There you have it. Why on earth isn’t the public energized over these ambitious and thought provoking agendas for excellence?
Let’s look at the top priorities of these over-achievers and see if we can figure out why there is an overwhelming disinterest in the community. Jan, we will start with you.
Top priority for Jan Tanner? “To continue the stability and civility of the school board.” Wow, slow down. Why take such a giant leap towards educational excellence with that goal? Maybe people just don’t believe that anyone could have such an impressive goal for a leadership-starved school district. This goal ought to bring the district to heights yet unseen. Go for it, Jan. I never realized that you had such vision. How about another great goal? “…direct maximum resources to the classroom.” This is a good one, Jan. I wonder how you will reconcile this goal with your support for disbanding site based management, which would have directed maximum resources to the classroom. I wonder how you will reconcile this goal with your collusion with Karen Teja when she handed ex-superintendent Sharon Thomas a $750,000 golden parachute in her contract. As treasurer at the time, you sure helped the classroom teachers by helping to insert that 6-figure giveaway into the supe’s contract. I wonder if this is why people just aren’t excited about your candidacy. So many accomplishments to date, so many ideas. Wait, here’s another good one: “facilitate meaningful parent and community engagement.” Remember back when you sued the state because parents were to be empowered with allowing their tax dollars to follow their children to the schools of their choice? Is this what you mean by meaningful parent engagement? Do you really mean that you would empower parents to do what the education bureaucracy tells them to do with their own money and schools? I can just feel the excitement building around your campaign.
Let’s look at Charlie Bobbitt. Jan Tanner says that she can’t stand Charlie because he doesn’t even open his board packet before he attends his pre-meeting board buffet. I’ll bet Charlie has some great ideas for D11. In fact, his first idea is similar to Jan’s: “To continue being a positive voice for all of School District 11.” There you go. He will continue to be a positive voice for D11. Every parent can probably feel the academic performance of their district rising quickly by just uttering those strong words. Why does Jan dislike Charlie? Sounds as if these two education experts are working off of the same ambitious worksheet.
Delia Busby is back again. Delia, who makes her living by suing D11 or by charging the tax payers for educational consultant services that she does not perform, must have some very ambitious goals for the district this time around: “I have a record of efforts to maintain strong neighborhood schools. Geography should not determine whether a school is good or not.” Whoa, a record of efforts. How do you top that? The fact that Delia was serving on the board while D11 had the 2d worst performance of any school district in the county is apparently irrelevant. Delia had efforts. The good news is that if Delia is elected again, Sandra Mann will not be the only board member to show up for board meetings after having consumed large amounts of alcohol. They might as well. Nothing of importance ever happens there anymore anyway.
As for Tom Strand, I already pointed out that he is the voucher guy who is being run by Karen Teja. He will certainly ensure that employees once again get the right to vouchers for their kids. This ought to bring about public excitement.
Then there is Bob Null. Old Bob just wants to be elected to something. He runs around the community chasing election after election, hoping to become an important elected official. If anyone can figure out what on earth he wrote for his priorities, I am sure that there might be something to get excited about, but I just haven’t been able to decipher what he wrote just yet: “Restore confidence in the integrity and capabilities for educational excellence for all children; make the budget/expenditure process much more open to the public; budget allocations: salaries, students, facilities, staff, IT, safety/security, environment; graduation and dropout rates; disparities in student grades across the district; slow/stop the enrollment hemorrhaging.” Probably some good stuff in there somewhere.
Chryese Exline wants to close the achievement gap. How she would do this, she doesn’t say. Considering that she is a close friend to John (it’s all about me) Gudvangen, her plan will likely be to bring down the achievement of the top achievers to the lowest common denominator, thereby achieving her goal of closing that gap. Why work hard when mediocrity is so much easier?
That leaves Willie Breazell. Willie wants to actually improve the district, but that makes him a threat to the liberal do-nothing establishment. We simply won’t tolerate a single person on this board who will point out the continuing failures of this ½ billion dollar school district. That just isn’t positive enough.
There you have it. Why on earth isn’t the public energized over these ambitious and thought provoking agendas for excellence?
posted by Craig Cox | 12:42 PM
2 Comments:
What's sad is that people at least used to be engaged in a debate about making things better in the district. With the reformers gone, it looks like no one, and I mean no one, cares. I think a lot of people have decided that there is no hope for this district - parents will continue to pull their kids out or help them at home, and just pray for the day they're done with it all. And in the meantime, all those fat cat administrators cash in on the backs of the kids they do nothing to serve, the board is busy getting along, and people aren't engaged. It's a sad, sad thing to watch.
Is "board civility and stability" synonymous with "rubber stamping"? Me thinks so!
This board and all the candidates with the exception of Breazell, Null and Busby will continue to be compliant, gettin' along and goin' along board directors, if reelected.
Now as for the three who have already shown their individuality colors: Breazell wants drastic change, drastically improved academic performance, drastically reduced administrative bloat, drastically applied quality controls. But he's one of seven, so why even bother, Willie?
You are probably right about Null. Kind of like some other also-ran we've been saddled with in several elections: Teja. Just wants to be a celebrity in our little burg.
And the other one, faggedaboudit!! She had her chance, didn't do squat beyond serve herself. Don't give her another opportunity to see where the need to contract for hundreds of thousands is. Delia does nothing that doesn't serve Delia first.
I say let's turn the district over to the city. Make those putzes see just how serious a declining district affects and entire city. As of this writing, they haven't a clue and couldn't care less. Once again: their own are sitting in nice little private school chairs, so the minions are not important.
Keep it up Craig, you've got a very clear handle on what is going on in D-11. If only you were still on the board...........
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