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Dear Members of the USD 232 Board of Education,
As an elected official in an unpaid position, thank you for
your service. I am sure most of you are
mindful of the fact that although you are chosen to represent your
constituents, your post is won by popular vote in the event you face any
opposition. As such, your voice is not
necessarily representative of my voice.
However, as an elected official, you are trusted to truly represent the
views of your populace, leaving your personal views aside.
The news of the resignation of Dr. Doug Sumner as our
superintendent is inarguably against the wishes of all parents and teachers
within USD 232. This is a tremendous
loss and blow to our district. During
Dr. Sumner’s tenure at USD 232, as you know, the state slashed funding numerous
times, and parents were asked more and more to contribute supplies and time to
ensure our children would continue to get an education that clearly supersedes
what the State has determined to be worthy.
As much as parents were willing to donate their time and resources, we
cannot supplement our teachers’ salaries, nor can we pay them what they
deserve. When you spend a mere 30
minutes in the classroom, it is clear theirs is a job of passion, not financial
gain. Our teachers kept their posts,
despite offers in other districts of higher pay, and I firmly believe it was
because of Dr. Sumner’s leadership.
When the news of Dr. Sumner’s resignation was made known,
the first series of questions were “Why?
What happened?” There is plenty of blame to be had.
1.
Shame on me for not attending the BOE meetings
to personally witness reports now of inappropriate behavior by a board
member. Shame on me for believing an
elected official would put his personal agenda aside and truly work for the
best interests of the people he is supposed to prioritize—the faculty, staff,
and students. Shame on anyone who did
not vote to prevent this person’s election into this position, and shame on
those to did vote for him to put him there. To this end, I will remain silent
no more. My voice will be heard,
directly from me.
2.
Shame on Scott Hancock for his clearly
inappropriate behavior—lacking professionalism, respect, or any degree of
decorum. Shame on him for using his
position to push out Dr. Sumner. It is
far too late to do anything to bring Dr. Sumner back, nor would I expect him to
return, given the lack of respect he was given. To this end, I ask this board member to
resign with dignity. I am unclear as to
what agenda you were trying to achieve, but your purpose was achieved, and your
“work here is done”, so to speak. I am
asking that you step down with dignity before I take formal measures to have
you removed from your post. You do not
reflect the views of the people you have been elected and trusted to represent.
If you truly believe your views represent those of people in our community, it
is repugnant in the extreme.
3.
Shame on any person for having allowed that
board member to have so much authority, to cross so many boundaries. Our children are taught a zero tolerance
policy regarding disrespect, yet this person was allowed to behave in a manner
so reprehensible it moved Dr. Sumner to resign from his position. If a child behaved in this manner, that child
would expect to be faced with severe consequences.
Our community has been dealt a severe blow with the loss of
Dr. Sumner as superintendent. I wish Dr.
Sumner the best as he moves into his next position, though his loss will be
felt deeply. I hope that as we move
forward, we learn from what has happened.
I, for one, will be heard.
Regards,
Anh-Nguyet Nguyen
Excellent.
ReplyDeleteI use to work for the De Soto parks and rec and on numerous occasions over several years I witnessed Scott Hancock verbally abuse and harass elementary and middle school children in which he was coaching baseball as a so called mentor. He would use language so foul and offensive that I can't imagine would even be tolerated in a professional athletic locker room! He would take up both handicapped parking spots behind the De Soto community center to unload his baseball equipment for indoor practices, then leave his truck and trailer blocking both spots for hours on end. This man has no respect for others, and has cussed out myself and coworkers on multiple occasions for not bending rules to satisfy his needs! I tried to warn folks prior to the elections but it wasn't enough. He needs to go now!
ReplyDeleteDH, what a shame your warnings were not heeded. Let's hope he does the right thing and resigns. As promised in my letter, I will give him the chance to leave with dignity before I take action.
DeleteThanks for what you're doing. More people need to step up as well!
DeleteYou know what we do with trash, We take it out.
DeleteI reported on this controversy for the Mill Valley High School JagWire, and mentioned this letter in my story. Read more: http://www.mvnews.org/?p=36773
ReplyDelete