Editorial: Stick to job description when critiquing board
November 5, 2008
By Administrator
It is our responsibility as taxpayers to make sure our school board members hire and oversee the work of the superintendent, approve a balanced district budget and lead the way in needed policy adoptions.
It is not our job to tell them what to do with their own children.
At an Oct. 23 board meeting of the Snoqualmie Valley School District, two citizens requested that Board Vice President Kathryn Lerner resign her position. Their reasoning revolves around the fact that Lerner has chosen to send her daughter outside the district to attend Mercer Island High School. Lerner still has another daughter attending school inside the Snoqualmie Valley district.
While keeping tabs on the actions of our elected officials is a necessary duty, Lerner’s family decision is really none of our business and should do nothing to damage her reputation as a board member. She has explained that her decision had to do with her daughter’s desire to participate in marching band and study Mandarin, programs unavailable at Mount Si. If anything, her attempt to fulfill her daughter’s needs – even in the face of possible scrutiny – is admirable.
Furthermore, Lerner was challenged to unify the board to help get a bond passed that would alleviate school crowding. Any accusation that Lerner isn’t out to do whatever she can to help get a bond passed is absurd — not after she served as co-chair of Valley Voters for Education, a group that has campaigned for school bonds in the past.
Instead of scrutinizing the families who have opted to send their children outside the district — for whatever reason — perhaps we should encourage and join forces with our board members to be creative in extending curriculum that entices students to stay. Communicate to the board about problems. Offer ideas as to how the district can be better.
If, at the end of a term, you don’t feel a board member is doing the job, you as a citizen should feel free to vote for someone else. Personal family decisions like where their kids attend school should not be up for discussion.
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well, hi admin adn people nice forum indeed. how’s life? hope it’s introduce branch