5-28-05 It all started with a vast distribution of the District's February 05 Newsletter.
In that letter, Dr. Wagner describes in detail the savings from the Acton school closure, the portable relocation and restroom installation project at Meadowlark and High Desert, the re-opening of Acton without full staff, the estimated costs to do that and her recommendations. The dollar figures she throws at you are not credible like always.
She finishes her message by saying: “There are many opinions regarding this issue. You are encouraged to share yours at the February 24 meeting of the board of trustees…” Well, that meeting took place. The board tabled these issues again. Why? Too many inaccurate dollar figures! Hello, Dr. Wagner, are you hard of hearing? You heard again from the Community and you will hear from its residents over and over again.
What took place before that meeting is also well known. Teachers, parents and board members have been “hammered” with emails and phone calls to persuade them to oppose the re-opening of Acton. Apparently it did not work.
It has been my opinion and others that the teachers just don't know what is going on. The same is true for most of the parents. I urge teachers and parents to be part of the school board meetings. Get to know your board members. Be part of the solution. Call them. Ask questions. Inform yourself. Don't listen to rumors. Get the facts. Attend local meetings announced in our local papers. Find out why we ask the District for a non-bias Needs Assessment. The “no show” of teachers and parents is one of the most critical issues. It is your student and your child who is at risk. The children deserve better.
Dr. Wagner, please don't “spoon feed” your teachers and parents with nonsense. Don't make up dollar figures that appeal to the uninformed. We are all smarter than that. We will not give in to your dictatorial behavior and short term quick fix plans. Stop throwing money in a bottomless financial pit.
Another rumor that goes around is that the teachers will not get any raises for the foreseeable future if Acton is going to be re-opened. More scare tactics? Since Meadowlark school is closed to new enrollment, it is insane to send kids that are living close to Acton school to send them to Agua Dulce. It is a huge expense for many parents having kids spread all over in different schools. Many parents also don't want to use the bus service because of the dangers involved, no seat belts and a lot of winding roads. During the last school board meeting, the speaker from Food Services, the gentleman expert on finances and the comments made by a teacher did not impress anybody at all. They had no clue of what is going on and were ill prepared. Even some board members were confused and asked several questions. Needless to say, these “story tellers” were obviously recruited by the superintendent.
Thanks to the school board for tabling the portable relocation issue. The members did the right thing. Costs and savings need to be studied first. Accurate figures need to be submitted by the Superintendent if she is able to do so.
In closing, may be some day, I will be able to write only about positive happenings in our District. I'm looking forward to that day because I'm getting real tired of all the controversies and a divided town.
Bernard Schwab Your local school watchdog manzanita@dslextreme.com