Thursday, October 22, 2009

This community needs a proactive school board.

The most efficient way to cover the long list of material covered on this blog is to read the "Summary" section and then drill down to individual topics for greater detail. You can get to the "Summary" page by clicking right here or by clicking on the word "Summary" in the margin to the right.

While I can appreciate there are a lot of topics covered here, the overall trend clearly demonstrates that our current school board cannot provide the oversight they have been elected (or appointed) to provide. They may collectively claim to be doing their best, but "their best" is not good enough.

It all comes down to whether this community wants a reactive board that lacks the tools and experience to resolve problems or a proactive board that has a history of recognizing problems before they happen and has the skill and resources to prevent the problems that plague us now.

With the long list of issues covered here, just imagine how much more effective district leadership can be with the right person asking the right questions at the right time. This community cannot afford more of the same.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and please remember to vote.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to see Mark back on the Blog!
I have voted and mailed. Readers: please get the word out to vote for a "voice" on the Edmonds School District Board. Mark is our only HOPE.

Richard Reuther said...

As part of the civics lessons that we tried to teach your students was this axiom of democracy: If you don't vote, you can't complain about the results or the consequences.

Vote. It is your responsibility as a citizen of a democracy.

Anonymous said...

It is good to see the Blog back up and running again. We need this forum! The District and the Unions always like to influence how we vote on the issues. I am capable of making my own decisions on these matters, thank you very much. The abuses to the rank and file within the district continue to go on, while many, not all, of the inadequate managers continue to prosper. The "workers" continue to be abused and unrecognized for their valiant efforts while the Adminstrator's pat themselves on the backs for a "job well done". "Favortism" is the word for the day. It is time for a change in leadership. Please vote for Mark Zandberg for Edmonds School District School Board. But let us not stop there. Speak out against the oppression! It is time we quit being afraid of retaliation for voicing our concerns to the district administration. I for one am tired of working in fear. Workers Unite!

Anonymous said...

My condolences to Mark for the election results. I can not express how disappointed that I am, or how appreciative I am of all that he has offered through his efforts. I hope that Mark chooses to continue with this movement.

We were vocal in our efforts to have him elected, but our efforts fell short. While the District will regard this as both a victory and an affirmation of their success, one would do well to remember that Mark received a third of the vote. Disappointing as this may be, it is a rather admirable accomplishment nonetheless. There is the issue of name recognition, which we could do better to remedy next time.
We must continue, one and all, with our efforts to expose the incompetency and waste within the Edmonds School District. We are making progress, although a bit slower than many have hoped. And there is the opportunity affect the upcoming levy. Teachers are not likely to see substantial reductions, nor are the educational assistants. As Marla Miller has already expressed her desire to rid the District of Transportation, Maintenance and Custodial staff, these groups have no reason to moderate their communication with the community. And the election results do confirm that the community is listening to us, one-by-one.

One would think that another period of the same-old will generate enough some degree of thought process within the EEA, but years of t blissful disregarded have dispelled the likely hood of common sense. I have learned that this employee group thinks so highly of themselves, they simply will not see past the job title. Besides, they are much too busy, deciding when next year's spring break should be, to consider such trivial matters as the future of their school district. Enough about this sorry set.

Keep blogging, and reaching out to the community. Change is inevitable when the people become informed.

Remember, people love dirty laundry - and I'm happy to be a clothesline hanging out Edmonds waste, incompetency, and general disregard for the true welfare of the students.

Anonymous said...

There were 212 write-in votes against Anne McMurray. I wrote in Charles Manson. Seemed that Mr. Helter Skelter wouldn't do any harm in a Edmonds Board meeting, and his swastika-forehead scowl would be an asset to Nick. Anyone want to comment on who they wrote in?

Anonymous said...

It would be of interest to many how George Marschall is "managing" the Maintenance Department. How certain foreman was hired when clearly he was not a front candidate. How another foreman position was eliminated, then reopened and the job description re-written so that only a specific applicant could qualify-one he wanted to have the job. Talk persists in the shop but I will let someone closer to the injury tell the story. (Mark, I will e-mail personally with whom to contact for a feature).

I am sure that Brian is pleased with George's performance.

Richard Reuther said...

All things considered, 33% should not be regarded in the negative. Spin doctors would have their say, of course, but we see that there are 6,084 people who have enough sense to know that change is needed on the school board.

It also shows that about 12,000 people voted against their own best interests. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

Anonymous said...

Reuther said it all! My sentiments as well. I hope Mark will be encouraged by the 33% who voted in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

The community must be pretty satisfied with the current school board. Out of 85 contested races on the Snohomish County Auditor's site, only ten opponents got a lower percentage of the vote than Mark did. Certainly not a sign of an uprising.