Meeting Report

Tuesday night's meeting was great. As with the first meeting, there was a limited turnout. It has been brought to our attention that people are not aware of the group. However, there were mostly new faces with new information and new energy. It has become obvious that there are many people who are not only unhappy with issues in ISS, but who are also willing to use their time and resources to bring change for the benefit of our children and teachers.

The cumulative amount of documented information of issues that have become available as a result of concerned citizen input has been amazing.

Public support of our teachers has been identified as one of the top concerns of citizens. The teachers are the ones who spend time with our children. They know best what our children need. They have been educated as teachers and know how to do their job. Unfortunately they are being bogged down with testing, assessments and data gathering. And it appears that, regardless of Holliday’s “open door policy” their opinion is not wanted unless it supports the administrations agenda. The teachers are afraid to speak out and we are in the process of finding the best way to eliminate that problem. We want to hear from our teachers.

ISS officials continue to work numbers to support their own agenda. They are supported as well by outside factors for reasons unbeknownst to me.

Last night a fellow gave the dates and particulars about a poll that ran in the Record and Landmark. The information they were gathering was public opinion towards the Baldrige program. The results from these polls usually appear in the Record and Landmark, however the results from this particular poll never did. He gave a call to the Record and Landmark and was given the results over the telephone. If I remember correctly, there were less than 50 people in support of Baldrige and over 700 against.

In my opinion, the R&L no longer reports the news, but rather supports their position through one-sided commentaries. This information given by the gentleman last night about the poll supports my opinion and also my opinion that the R&L places Holliday on a pedestal.

Another concern that has been repeatedly expressed by citizens is that the ISS Board of Education seems to give Holliday whatever he wants in recent years. It has been brought up that next year will give us the opportunity to replace some of the people on the board. Also, a new law comes into effect December 1, 2009. SECTION 1. G.S. 14-230 makes it a misdemeanor for a school board member to willfully omit, neglect or refuse to discharge any of the duties of his office. Violation will result in indictment and removal from office. This will make it tough for many of our representatives on the school board since they consistently ignore school board policy.

The end of a dictatorship in our school system appears to be in sight. There is still much dedication and hard work that must be done. Parents who have tried to address issues within the school system know that being stone-walled is a commonplace school system tactic. The efforts of a concerned citizens group certainly will not be met with open arms either.

The date of the next meeting will be posted on the ISS Report as soon as we determine the location. The date is tentatively set for Tuesday July 7, from 7 pm. To 9 pm.

This post was written by Larry Coover.