Political Alliances

I saw this poster on Facebook and thought it seemed apropos. If anyone knows the name of the artist please let me know so that I can give proper credit. (After doing some checking, I believe the artist's name is Al Haug)

There is an unusual political alliance taking shape in our school district right now and it has me reflecting on what unites us as Americans. Our concerns over the performance of our superintendent and school board have people from both the left (like me) and from the right of the political spectrum coming together to demand change. In other circumstances we would disagree with one another, vehemently I'm guessing, about the proper role of government, to whose advantage we believe the "playing field" currently tilts, and the direction in which we believe the country should be heading.

But left, right, or center, there are certain things we do agree on. We believe that public institutions, like our school district, belong to us and not to the people who run them for us. We believe that those individuals should be responsible and responsive to the public. When it comes to accountability and transparency we believe they've got to "walk the walk," not just "talk the talk." We really hate the idea that someone might use their public office or public employment to feather their own nest or benefit their friends. Or that the people in charge would simply look the other way. Especially in tough economic times we expect careful stewardship of resources, budget cuts that protect the educational mission of the district, and good value for our money. We expect the guardians of our resources to justify every expenditure and demonstrate its impact on the education of our children. We expect full and complete honesty from the people we have elected and hired to run our school district. We want frequent, open, two-way communication about the issues we confront.

This is our school district. It belongs to us. We are not afraid and we will not be bullied or intimidated any longer. We're coming together and we're going to put our house in order.

New Poll

There is a new poll in the upper right-hand corner. Don't forget to vote this week. If you have other ideas for polls please pass them along and I'll try to post a new one each week.

Opening on School Board

Betty Plude has resigned from the School Board effective immediately. Over the years she has given her time very generously to our schools, to the Independence Public Library, to the School Board, and in her writing workshops. We are very fortunate to have her as a neighbor and community member. Betty is a lovely person who truly cares about our kids. She was too nice to be a School Board member and I think the stress wore her down.

Our current superintendent is, in my opinion, a skilled manipulator. To be effective, Board members need to be a bit cynical. They need to be willing to ask difficult questions, to demand full and complete answers, and to fight through the obfuscation and half-truths. There's no need for outright belligerence but now is not the time to play nice. We need someone who will represent US.

I'm hoping we have some individuals out there who are willing to take on this difficult challenge and apply for the vacant spot. The Board will be appointing someone to serve the remainder of Betty's term which expires next June. Whoever is selected will have to run for election in May if they wish to remain on the Board. The applicant (and later candidate) must reside in Zone 1, which is all of Independence north of Monmouth Avenue within the city limits. Their letter of application must be received at the district office by 4:30 pm on October 8. Although it hasn't been announced, I'm assuming the Board will make their selection known at the November School Board meeting.

Now one of the things I've heard recently is that they have already decided that Steve Moser will serve out Betty's term. If so, they have violated the open meetings law that requires that all such deliberations take place in public. It certainly seemed to many of us at the high school dedication ceremony that Hunter was setting Steve up to be Betty's successor (it was already known that she did not intend to seek re-election) by making it seem as if he had single-handedly gotten the bond passed for us. He did work on the bond campaign, and deserves our thanks, but there were plenty of other people who worked just as hard. Why Steve? Well he has already spoken publicly on several occasions about what a great job he thinks Hunter and Maloney have been doing. I'm sure Hunter would love to have him on the Board! But here's the thing - the Board is supposed to represent the public, not the superintendent.

If you know someone who would make a good Board member, encourage them to apply. It may all be for naught if the Board has decided to appoint a "yes man" for Hunter but we will get to decide for ourselves next May.

Don't Forget to Vote

There is a poll for my readers in the top right-hand corner of this page. There are four more days to vote.

The Superintendent's "Raise"

Did the superintendent receive a raise this year? It's a matter of interpretation. His salary last year was supposed to be $121,856. Last year, administrator's "gave back" days to alleviate the budget crisis. This reduced the superintendent's actual salary to $112,409. This year his salary is at the level it was supposed to be last year. Is that a raise? Compared to what he actually received last year, yes it is. Compared to what he was supposed to be paid last year, no it's not.

It should also be noted that the superintendent sold back ten "unused" vacation days last year which allowed him to recoup lost salary. No other employee is allowed to do that.

Protections for Whistleblowers

It was reported last week that the former business director of the WESD is suing the district, the former superintendent, and the deputy superintendent for violations of Oregon's whistleblower laws. These laws are intended to protect public employees from retaliation when they come forward with information regarding illegal, unethical, or incompetent actions on the part of their employers. Given that the state investigation substantiated many of the former business director's claims of financial improprieties at the WESD, it would seem she has a fairly strong case. She is asking for $1.58 million in damages.

I think people are more fearful than they need be about reporting wrong-doing in public agencies. If employees of the Central School District go to the Board or a state agency with information they believe is true and accurate regarding misconduct within our district they are protected by law from retaliation. A whistleblower's identity cannot even be disclosed without their written permission. There are legal remedies when reprisals do occur. While it would still be advisable to consult an attorney before engaging in any whistleblowing, it is not necessary to live in fear.

Suing Mr. Boyack

I've heard that Joseph Hunter is trying to sue John Boyack for bringing up Mike Maloney's history on his blog and at last week's school board meeting. I'm not sure that will fly since everything Mr. Boyack relayed is a matter of public record. For any of you legal eagles out there, can it be defamation if its true? And I certainly hope that Hunter is not using district legal staff to investigate this. Why should we foot the bill to try to defend Mr. Maloney for something that happened before he even arrived in our district?