At the Board of Education meeting on April 6th I raised an issue regarding an inaccuracy in the February 9th Board Minutes, prior to their approval.
You can imagine my surprise and shock when the Board instead approved the Minutes, failing to even consider my observation and request for a review.
I went into the meeting thinking that an honest mistake may have been made when developing the Minutes. I left thinking that the Minutes had been consciously written to change what really transpired in February.
As a taxpaying parent, I raised a legitimate issue with the February 9th Board Minutes. The discussion at that meeting, surrounding the District’s HS GT program, did not direct that sustainable funding come solely from SBB (Student Based Budgeting), yet that is what was reflected in the Minutes. The Board completely ignored my observation and review request. This was blatantly disrespectful, not only to me, but also to the GT students and the HS GT program whose funding will almost certainly be affected by this change. The Board’s actions reflect poorly on the Jefferson Country Board of Education and breed distrust and an appearance of opaqueness.
What went on behind closed doors so that the Minutes were written in that manner?
When the Board decided not to discuss my point it demonstrated that:
- They were lazy and/or tired.
- They did not like who delivered the message or the manner in which it was delivered.
- They were willing to say one thing at the Board meeting on February 9th when they knew many people were watching, but hoped to hide a different message in the normally unread Board meeting Minutes 2 months later.
- The Board was subsequently convinced of a revisionist history interpretation of what was said at the meeting by a District staff member.
- Board members were afraid to say anything after the Board President called for a motion to approve. Or,
- The Board thinks they know everything and don’t want anyone disagreeing with them.
None of these is a good reason to blatantly ignore a constituent who raised a reasonable request to review inaccurate Minutes surrounding a wide-ranging discussion. As elected public officials, they have a responsibility to ensure accurate Board Meeting Minutes. They failed to fulfill their responsibilities in this case!
This Board ran on a platform of trust and transparency. Yet, their actions as a Board on April 6th were disgraceful, disrespectful, show a complete lack of leadership and merely further the community’s distrust of the Board and the District staff.