There were, perhaps, fewer fireworks during the latest BOE meeting, but plenty of anger and disappointment to go around. The good news is that despite the lengthy agenda, Board members moved through fairly quickly and on most items there seemed to be less that needed to be discussed and clarified before a vote. It does appear that things are moving in a positive direction with Mr. Nixon as Acting Superintendent. The bad news is that there appears to be a substantial amount of game-playing still going on behind the scenes, and this game-play continues to be directed toward certain board members.
First up, Mr. Hyman stated that there was discussion about the Lower Columbia field that would take way too long to go over. This is where those committee meeting minutes are so vitally important, and these type of discussions and negotiations are still somewhat hidden by doing all work in committees. One of the major successes of this new board is in having committee meeting minutes made available to the public without the need for multiple OPRA requests. It will be interesting to see what the Athletic Committee minutes look like for something that was way too much to share in a board meeting.
On the subject of minutes, our Board Secretary/Business Administrator is still not producing minutes that the board agrees upon. This has been an issue for months now. It is clear to everyone watching that the majority of board members are not going to approve inaccurate and/or incomplete minutes, and Mr. Juskiewicz needs to take action to remedy this. On a somewhat related note, Mr. Juskiewicz also needs to find a better way to count votes, getting the count wrong and stating an item passed when it actually failed. This is not the first time vote counts have been incorrect. It’s also worth noting Mr. Juskiewicz’s choices when referring to board correspondence; sometimes naming residents and sometimes not, and choosing how much detail about the correspondence to share. That’s when he doesn’t “forget” about correspondence that was received.
And now onto the votes for the proposed CMS clubs. Right off the bat, I had questions about Prism and Unfiltered having been clubs for the past two years, but those questions can be set aside in order to look at the bigger picture.
We have side-by-side “big pictures” here. How anyone could have voted ‘no’ is something that is hard to fathom. (Kudos to one resident whose measured response is a shining example of control in speaking about their disappointment with a vote. Maybe one day I’ll learn this skill.) Clubs are important to students regardless of their intent, but when the nature of a club goes beyond hobbies to identity, it is outrageous that the approval for these clubs was denied. Now, having been watching the BOE meetings for a few years, there’s a lot that goes unsaid but that one can make a damned good guess about. My damned good guess is that these clubs did not follow the usual process for being brought up for a board vote. This is the game-playing that was mentioned above. Knowing that diversity can be a hot-button issue and knowing full well how a ‘no’ vote looks, the board is then over a barrel. If one wants to vote ‘no’ due to improper process, there is (justifiable) anger generated. In this case, in my opinion, the harm done by the ‘no’ vote is greater than trying to enforce the rules. But… that reinforces the game-play that we need to move beyond. Game-play like quoting ethics statutes to score political points.
A number of residents spoke about the girls’ soccer coach not being reappointed to his position. Again, the part that is unsaid is important. First, personnel matters can never be discussed publicly. They just can’t, and anyone who is familiar with BOE meetings and structure knows this, but to give further confirmation that not all is as it appears, we had a former board member who thanked the board for their fortitude in that particular vote. Given the strained relationships involved, there is definitely something we don’t know about the situation. Unfortunately, that board member then turned around and in a further show of political posturing raised the subject of bills being voted down. This is posturing because, as a former board member, this resident knows full well that the board cannot speak to items that are not on the agenda unless the Board President allows it. It should surprise no one that no explanation would be allowed in this situation. Another damned good guess is that the vote on paying bills is what has finally allowed us to appoint an attorney who is professional and knowledgeable, rather than keep playing along with the game of refusing to put the appointment of the attorney on the agenda as should have been done at the beginning of the calendar year.
In all this, what should have been some of the biggest news-worthy points of the meeting were quietly passed with no fanfare at all. If residents don’t watch the meetings with the agenda in front of them, it’s all too easy to miss what, exactly, is being voted on. Mr. Nixon’s appointment as Acting Superintendent was extended into September. Summer curriculum writing was approved. The Porzio, Bromberg and Newman legal firm was appointed to replace Giacobbe; a major – and I mean MAJOR – win for our district. Lastly, and no less important, Dr. Joseph Cordero was approved as Director of Elementary Education and Intervention.