Click here to view the two word documents showing the board’s goals, the superintendent’s goals, and the No Child Left Behind Presentation given by Mr. Noble at the August 23, 2007 board meeting.
If you do not have Microsoft Word or Microsoft Powerpoint, let me know and I can give you instructions on how to open it anyway.
Just a word on the open forum
August 24, 2007
I will write more later, (I am still half-asleep,) but I did want to mention a couple of things.
First, I was in favor of having an open forum since day one. Not only did I want it open, I did not want any controls in place to try and censor what anyone might say. To me it was a lesson in social economics. We were provided with a choice scenario. If we made the choice not to do the forum, we would be giving up an appearance and perception of openness. If we made the choice to do it, then it would become possible for people to use it as a platform to discuss items that really have no direct correlation to our responsibilities and roles as board members.
It was my opinion that we had way more to lose by choosing not to have an open forum than doing one, and as it turns out, I was right. We have had several weeks of bad press because of our initial reluctance as a board to have an open-mic forum, and it was all for naught.
As it turned out, last night was relatively pleasant. Even if someone would have come to grandstand a bit, the rest of the night would have been considered very productive.
In all fairness, I completely understand where Ocello is coming from. Based on my conversations with him on the topic, his basic premise is this:
Some people like to use these types of events to make political statements that have nothing to do with the operation of the Mehlville School District. For instance, if someone is anti-public education, it is not up to us to provide a venue for them to express those thoughts because it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the board members of the Mehlville School District.
The place to take those types of concerns are to the State Representatives, State Senators, and the Congresspeople and Senators of the United States. That is where decisions about providing public education are made. As a board, we are just here to serve the people of our community. Our main job is to develop, revise, and enforce school board policy, while practicing fiscal responsibility. After all, in the words of Harry Truman, “The buck stops here.”
However, as you know, one man’s fiscal responsibility is another man’s trash.
Regardless, I don’t really care if someone wants to come and politic at an open forum. As far as I am concerned, if that is how they want to use their five minutes, then so be it. Most people in this community are intelligent enough to know what is going on. Not only that, who knows, maybe they will have some good points for us as a board to consider as well.
Karl Frank, Jr.
Vice President
Mehlville Board of Education
