In the latest in a long line of questionable decisions, the board in February has made one that really stands out: They voted to change their election cycle to line up with general elections. This means that instead of Jim Hoyt, Joyella Beuler, and Jim Oedekerk facing election in November of 2007, they will not need to campaign until 2008. In addition, board members Ingram and Brown will not need to worry about reelection until November of 2010. They stated that the reason for the change was financial, but could there be a more pressing reason for the change? How about the fact that they have been part of a very unsuccessful administration, and felt that postponing eventual defeat was the safest course?
The focus in public education so far this century has been "accountability." For public figures like our board members, elections are the ultimate in accountability. It is the time when the people either say "Yes, we believe you have done a good job" and they are reelected to serve another term, or the public says "No, we don't believe you have been effective" and officials are replaced. Our board has quite efficiently stalled this process for financial reasons alright - After all, now they get to keep their health benefits (a program that YCEA has fought to preserve over the last few years) a while longer.
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5 comments:
By extending their term in office, the Board members also extended their free health benefit package. Is this a conflict of interest considering that by extending their terms in office, they benefited financially from that extension?
An alternative form of accountability is the recall process. If the community feels that the board is doing an unsatisfactory job, a recall petition is an option. If, on the other hand, the community supports this board, the Yucaipa-Calimesa district will continue to lose quality teachers to other districts.
It is time for YCEA to initiate and circulate a "no confidence" petition to members and the community.
I think a non-confidence recall measure is overdue. These people do not have the best interests of the district at heart. I for one am very sick of working for these people.
None of us ever thought we'd get rich teaching school, that is for sure, but we deserve to be paid fairly and treated with respect. It is accurate to say that Jim O., Joyella, Patty and Sue definitely wouldn't agree with me.
I no confidence vote needs to be taken not only of the board but also of the key administration members at the DO who have destroyed the morale and quality of our district. We all know who they are!
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