Reminder: School Board Candidates Forum on Sunday Afternoon
Decatur Metro | October 7, 2011Just a reminder that the Decatur Heights neighborhood is hosting a District 1 school board candidates forum this Sunday at the Church of Decatur Heights from 1:30p to 3:30p. In case you missed the full announcement previously, here’s the link.
Sadly, due to the recent passing of her mother, School Board member Julie Rhame will be unable to attend as originally planned. “It speaks volumes to Julie’s dedication to our schools,” said DM commenter and forum organizer Deanne, “that she still wanted to try to meet with the community to answer questions. It’s certainly in keeping with all that she’s always done.”
Our best to Julie and her whole family during this difficult time.
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My heart goes out to Julie Rhame and her family.
DM readers may wish to check out the AJC Voter Guide’s candidate questions and answers for Decatur School Board District 1 (B):
http://www.thevoterguide.org/v/ajc11/race-detail.do?id=221406548
Sunday’s event will hopefully spark everyone’s enthusiasm for the possibilities that can from an engaged community and the CSD working hand in hand. Come hear from the candidates! Stay to mingle and chat with other folks about the ideas you’ll hear! What if Meet & Greets with CSD Folks could become a regular thing at neighborhood meetings? We’d love for this event to lead to such get togethers throughout Decatur!
Can’t come for the entire two hours? Come for one! The Forum will last approximately an hour, and the Meet & Greet will immediately follow. The Church folks are kindly offering childcare during the Forum. (Slots are limited, so please email me to arrange: )
Arg! Make that:
…enthusiasm that can come from…
:0)
Just my two cents, but does anybody else think it’s odd that families, whose kids don’t attend Decatur City Schools, are campaigning for school board candidates?
Do they live (and pay taxes) in Decatur?
Yes…
Not at all. We are all taxpayers and Decatur citizens. The majority of those who pay the taxes that support CSD do not have children in the school system.
I find those without children in the system often have the most objective, balanced perspective on school issues. Parents, especially those of young elementary children, are often too close to the situation to see anything but what best suits their own particular child/children’s needs. This isn’t always what is best for the entire student population .
I see it as a very positive thing when a school board candidate has strong backing from both CSD parents and voters without children in the system. As enrollment grows and state funding shrinks, decisions about school issues will only get more difficult. An us vs them (CSD parents vs those without kids in CSD) mentality will be damaging to the whole community.
+1. As a parent I can attest that my agenda starts with my child, then moves outward. Some people may have the gift of detachment that allows them to separate the two, and I applaud those who can, but having a kid in the system definitely shouldn’t be a requirement — in policy or practice — of serving.
Your property value stays high in large part because of our excellent school system. Any taxpayer in Decatur should care about the schools and the school board election.
Besides, two of our current school board members do not have children in CSD.
Are you saying there are current school board members with K-12 aged children who are currently attending a school other than one of the City of Decatur schools?
I think tiptoe means that 2 board members are not current CSD parents . – Marc Wisniewski and Valarie Wilson’s children have graduated.
I guess your earlier comment was talking about people who send their children to private school and are involved in campaigning for BOE candidates.
Parents who choose to pay a big tuition bill and still live in Decatur to pay the high property taxes ( I know not all of it goes to the school system) – I definitely want to hear their take ! Why are they sending their kids elsewhere ? What do they see as the failings of CSD? Why do they think a particular candidate will make a difference on the BOE ?
Are you hinting that taxpayers who send their kids to private school have some how given up the right to have a voice in the BOE election ?
No, not at all. All should have a voice. And yes, they are sending their kids to private schools. I, as are you, am interested in why. I’d hoped to get a reply from someone who was participating at that level and hear their perspective. Just throwing it out there. I’ll be more careful how I “toss” next time…
Not at all. As a taxpayer, I have a vested interested in making sure that the Decatur City Schools are well run. And I find your statement that is is “odd” to be quite offensive.
This is exactly the kind of comment that caused me to always be a reader of the blog, not a participant. I’ll kindly leave…
See you around.
No need to leave. Your question was not offensive to me in any way. You started a good discussion. Hang in there, Ms. A.
Quite offensive? Really? I see it more as an opportunity for a civil discussion.
Agreed. I thought it was a valid question too and think there’s probably a pretty interesting story there.
The real estate explanation doesn’t jive to me. No one passionately campaigns for someone because they want to keep their real estate higher.
Everyone assumed she meant that she didn’t think non-CSD student parents should have a say, when it seemed to me like she was just wondering what their strong motivation was.
Just one example is a friend whose child is currently attending a specialized school for a learning disability, and will be transitioning back into CSD in a year or two. This happens frequently when CSD can’t get it together to offer appropriate services for ESS kids.
Or Catholic parents who feel they have a moral obligation to educate their children within their faith but still feel a desire to serve their broader community?
I’m one of those parents with a child who left the system for an LD school largely because CSD ESS (or whatever it was called back then) wasn’t offering appropriate services. My child didn’t end up returning to CSD. Never thought twice about doing what was best for my child but, wow, it was an expensive choice.
Over the years I’ve had many conversations with BOE members and candidates about the way CSD deals with providing services for learning disabled students. I’ve hoped things would improve and others could avoid what we faced. Based on your comment tiptoe, sad to see it looks like we aren’t there yet.
It continues to be an issue for some very specific reasons that could be fixed if they were recognized and someone was willing to make some hard decisions. This is where a small system can fail you. If your child isn’t being served well, there’s no place else to go, to appeal, to ask questions, to find answers.
It’s legitimate to be curious about why some people choose private school and also participate actively in the school board election process. But that’s not the question I heard. “Does anybody else think it’s odd that so-and-so…” is usually a backhanded way of criticizing somebody, and also a common tactic when somebody is just trying to stir the pot. Obviously quite a few others heard it that way, too. Maybe this is a nuance of communication that’s particularly Southern (I don’t really think so) or generational maybe, and Ms. A did not mean to be asking a baited question. If so, then this plain-speaking, fair-minded, self-policing community gave her a chance to think and learn. If she’d rather pout, that’s her choice.
I saw it as poor word choice, but I’m admittedly gullible. Replace “odd” with “interesting” and perhaps we’d have another conversation going.
The nuance of the comment wasn’t beyond me. I recognized the word that was causing the reaction. I was just surprised by the community’s response. And that’s usually the case when I’m not up to speed on a particular issue. I’ve never thought about that aspect of things and was curious to hear more about it. Thanks to tiptoe and Parker for providing a couple examples.
Bless her heart.
Upon second reading maybe I interpreted it wrong. If her point was that is is “odd” that “families,” who have kids, but send them to private schools, are campaigning for school board candidates, then maybe she has a fair point.
At first, I read it as a criticism of anyone campaigning for school board candidates who don’t have kids in the system … whether they be childless or adult kids, etc. That implication was what I found “offensive.” Maybe that was not where she was going.
Re: the real estate argument. To me, its not really an argument about keeping my real estate values high. It is more about how most of our property taxes go to pay for the schools and if that is where it is going to go, I want to make sure they are doing a good job of educating Decatur’s children, whether I have kids in the schools or not.
I apologize if my initial interpretation was wrong.
I do not find it odd, at all. In fact I admire them. It looks as if they are working for the greater good.
Is anyone willing to clue those of us who are out of the loop in on who this thread is about?
I am completely missing the subtext of this thread, both why it’s interesting that non-CSD parents are campaigning and why the comment was considered offensive. I have a feeling there’s a story here but maybe it’s better not to know. I’m loving campaigns without nastiness so far. If only our national politics could be this civil…
I think the subtext is a broader issue – not really related to this comment or the BOE election. That issue is the attitude of many CSD families towards their neighbors who choose private school. Seems to be a much touchier subject here in Decatur than in other communities around Atlanta. A distinct chill ( and sometimes even outright hostility) from formerly warm neighbors after sending kids to private school. Attitude seems to be if you’re not with us, you are against us. Not sure why this happens – or even if it does actually happen. Maybe it is just in the minds of those private school parents but over the years I have heard the same thing from quite a few people .
You have to do what’s right for your child and family even if that choice doesn’t fit your original picture of what you would be doing or someone else’s picture of what you ought to do. We’ve faced some hard decisions every now and then and decided to stay in CSD but had many, many folks, especially at work, say we were crazy not to go to private school. I think the only bad reason I’ve seen for a school choice is snob appeal. What’s so funny is that snob appeal works in both directions. It’s not common but there’s occasionally folks who choose private school the way they choose expensive shoes or cars, just because they can afford to have it. Conversely, there’s CSD snobs too. And it’s silly because your child’s real everyday school life has nothing to do with your image or status– it’s all about what goes on in their classroom(s) and who is in that classroom with them.
Part 1 of a 2-part video of the debate and meet and greet is up at nDECATUR.com. It includes the openings and closings of both candidates and the meet and greet. It’s 22 minutes long. Part II, now being produced and uploaded, should be up this evening or in the morning. It can be seen at http://vimeo.com/30363127. Feel free to link to it or embed it. I ask only attribution for Dave Kell at nDECATUR.com. I did this as a public service and our two sites often link to each other. Hope you find the video useful in making your decision and please do vote on 11/8 (or early starting today). Remember that 60% of our property taxes pay for the school system and the School Board sets the millage rate for that part.
Nice! Very helpful! Am looking forward to Part II. Hopefully most voters will get a chance to see this.
Part 2 of the video of the debate is at http://vimeo.com/30414188. It contains the rest of the debate, so those who did not make it can now see the entire hour of the formal debate. Feel free to watch it there, download it, embed it, or link to either or both parts. I did them as a public service. I ask only for attribution (Dave Kell at nDECATUR.com) if you use them in online or printed media. If you are registered, please vote early or vote on 11/8. Members of our School Board have a BIG influence on the quality of education Decatur provides, and how much homeowners pay in property taxes.
A BIG thank you to Dave for uploading the Forum so that everyone can hear the candidates’ ideas for our schools.
Geoff did an outstanding job as moderator, as did Daniel G., the DHS senior who posed a question to the candidates. Peg Bumgardner and Garrett Goebel proved that they’re both ready, willing, and able to take on the difficult decision making required of the CSD Board. The Church at Decatur Heights provided gracious hospitality and deliciously yummy treats– and as always, their enthusiastic willingness to help our neighborhood and community.
The light turnout was a disappointment. From the many responses that every CSD post attracts on Decatur Metro and listservs, you’d have thought that this event would be ideal for bringing together an engaged community with candidates who’ve proven their dedication to Decatur’s kids. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Really, it was just another example that folks in Decatur like to complain, but aren’t much interested in rousing themselves to attend a meeting or gathering to learn more. Equally disheartening was that the smattering of attendees was about what the other folks involved in the Forum and Meet & Greet expected, based on the low turnouts they’ve seen at other informative (as opposed to fun) CSD gatherings. Maybe folks had other plans for this particular Sunday. I urge folks to please make the time to attend CSD Board Meetings to demonstrate that your interest and support of our schools are truly a priority for you. Commenting online is all well and good. Showing up– or not– speaks volumes too.
Agree completely on all points.
(1) Was the expectation that District 2 residents would turn out for this?
(2) Julie Rhame’s mother’s funeral was Sunday afternoon.
It would’ve been delightful to have interested District 2 residents attend; however, as a District 1 focused event, it wasn’t expected.
Julie Rhame’s mother’s passing was in our thoughts on Sunday. (My statement in the post above is clunky. I was aware that her mother’s service was going to be held on Sunday.) Julie’s desire to participate in the Meet & Greet was truly admirable. When she graciously accepted the invitation to join us, her mother’s health had taken a sad turn, and their family was pulling together for her mother’s remaining days. Julie accepted anyway because she felt that it was important to join in the opportunity to meet with the community and answer questions re our schools. My always high regard for Julie Rhame has soared to new heights.