The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
Don't forget to vote in May 6 school race
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As the community prepares for another school board election May 6, the Saline School District must decide on what kind of relationship the community desires between the superintendent, the board and the parents.
Despite the fact that in Scot Graden we have an individual we can trust, voters still require accountability. I was heartened to see the current school board has a desire to investigate the possibility of updating and upgrading the governance model. To my knowledge, no other district in Michigan has a model like ours.
Currently, as written, our school board doesn't have any authority over the superintendent other than to hire or fire. That's it. The Board cannot direct any action it wishes performed and the school board cannot set annual goals for the superintendent by which performance can be measured.
This is highly unusual and may not comply with state law. A traditional governance model would allow for better oversight and guidance, which, in turn, may have prevented the fiasco we experienced last fall.
Another issue the next board must address is communication. Go to any neighboring school district Web site, link to its school board, and you will see individual school-sponsored e-mail addresses published openly for each board member.
Saline does have a mechanism on the Web site that allows a group e-mail to the board, but this ability has never been advertised. Also, it's not private and administrators can see sensitive information a constituent may only want the board to witness. Only in Saline must a parent make seven phone calls to have his or her voice heard about a particular concern, such as special education compliance, which, by the way, is a serious problem in our district.
In February, I attempted to forward a copied e-mail text to the board from an eyewitness to an alleged incident at a wrestling match between the athletic director and a parent. The report completely refuted the allegations of the athletic director. This witness stated in the text that they were afraid to step forward for fear of retaliation.
I have no idea if the board ever saw the e-mail because to my amazement there was "someone" in the district who screens the e-mails that are sent to the board.
I was floored to receive an email from sasboe-bounces@salineschools.com that stated that my e-mail "was being held until the list moderator can review it for approval." List moderator or censor? I never heard back and have no idea if the board ever saw it.
Do the candidates you plan to vote for May 6 have a strong desire to hear from the public about issues that are important to you as a parent and/or voter? Like our governance model, our openness to public communication and input is much different than everywhere else.
Before you vote, track down these five very able candidates and ask them if they believe that the board, as representatives of the voters, should be able to set broad annual goals for our superintendent. And ask them if they support our right to directly communicate with each individual board trustee, like other school districts permit.
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