Editor:
I am writing to thank the School Board for their dedication, hard work, and willingness to make tough decisions. Regardless of what side of the fence one might find themselves on with the recent four-day school week vote, the members of the school board deserve a hearty “thank you” for being willing to take part and vote on a difficult topic that had repercussions no matter which way you look at it.
They do not deserve the ridicule they are receiving in the public or in recent letters to the editor as was the case Feb. 22, 2012.
Now I will openly state I am not aware of all the details surrounding this particular issue but I am confident I probably have as much knowledge about it as Ms. Baldinger and Mr. O’Malley do. I have no idea at this time if the decision made will turn out to be the correct one or not (as only time will tell) but as I understand it, the vote for the four-day school week was the lesser of many evils. In other words, there was no “good” decision to be made, other than for the board to simply make a decision. I believe they did their job of researching the matter carefully and voted accordingly; and that speaks volumes about the members of the board!
Being a member of a multi-person board requires individuals to seek out and receive information about a particular issue and make decisions that are ultimately in the best interest of the organization of which they belong. Although it is nice if decisions can be unanimous, it is unrealistic to think they always will be. When they are not, it does not mean there was “total disregard” for a particular side as Ms. Baldinger would suggest, nor is it a “slap in the face to our community” as Mr. O’Malley wrote.
Casting shame on particular board members who did not vote a specific way is actually more disgraceful and should not be an acceptable practice by community members. At least most of the board members took their role seriously enough to be there. In fact, Mr. Adams found a way to participate in the meeting and vote remotely while on deployment to Afghanistan. From my perspective, the only unfortunate and unprofessional action that took place at the meeting was when Mr. Keeney chose to forgo his duties as a board member and leave in a huff for not getting his way. It is quite unnerving to have a public official portray childish behavior in a public setting.
I am a strong believer that you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. It is much easier to stand on the sidelines and make comments than it is to take the heat and make decisions. We need to be careful judging the results of decision makers until we have had to make the decisions ourselves. As such, perhaps I will see Ms. Baldinger’s and Mr. O’Malley’s names on the next ballot for school board?
Michael J. Adams
(Not the board member)
Sweet Home