Feb 28 Board Meeting - Q&A

OK, I know the meeting was a week ago. And I'm just now getting to posting the items. Well, I wanted to start with the Q&A, because that's usually first in the meeting, and because there was some discussion on the e-mail list just prior to the meeting, I wanted to post this one first, and I just couldn't right away, because I was getting some additional information after the meeting. So, while the additional information doesn't have the benefit of being confirmed or denied by anyone on an official basis, it does answer some questions.

As far as who was asking questions, it was me. Since a few people on the e-mail list were talking about the incident at the Middle School, I asked the Board what happened and what was being done. I had two reasons for wanting to bring these questions to a Board Meeting, since I could as easily have asked the same questions to the administration or the Board members via e-mail: the first reason was that, by asking at a Board meeting, it gave all parties a chance to answer and to hear what others on the Board or Administration said; the second reason was that, by asking at a Board meeting, the question would be placed in the meeting's minutes, and there would be some public record of the response. Since a few people asked about the incident, and no one seemed satisfied with the responses they were being given, this was important to me.

Supt. Hill fielded the question, and as you may suspect, he didn't provide many answers. He said that the issue was resolved and that the parents of the students involved had been involved in the resolution of the incidents themselves. I asked him if he thought this was an isolated incident, and he said it was -- it has only happened once, so it's very isolated. He closed by saying that he cannot divulge any more information due to privacy concerns.

Now, for what wasn't said nor confirmed. It wasn't until much later that I learned that the student who committed the act had been removed from the school and will not be back. I also learned that Dr. Mahaffy wrote several letters to the parents of the Middle School students, in an attempt to explain what happened and what actions were taken, but decided that all of his drafts would jeopardize privacy.

While I would personally like the administration and the Board members to be more forthcoming with information on these kinds of incidents, I also appreciate the right of individuals to privacy. As a parent, I wouldn't want any more information than is necessary for me to be assured that my children are safe in the school. "Trust us" isn't always enough for parents to have this assurance. Yet, I also understand the need for privacy. There really isn't a need for parents or students to get into the lives of the students involved in any incident beyond what is necessary to feel that the school is safe and a good learning environment. Maybe, in this case, it isn't possible for the administration or the Board to give all of the information the parents need. I'm still researching and asking questions to see if the privacy concerns cited are statutory, or District policy, or both. But, as much as I express frustration that the Board and administration needs to be more forthcoming with information to the community, I don't see an effort to sweep this incident under the rug. What I keep hearing is that, in this case at least, the school district is trying to find a way to inform the community, and has decided to err on the side of privacy.

I come away with as many questions as answers. What information would I need to be confident my kids are safe, and that an incident won't happen again? What are the boundaries that violate the right to privacy? In many incidents across the country, newspaper stories give details; do these stories violate the right to privacy? I'd like to keep a dialogue going between the community, the administration, and the members of the Board, to try to find a way for all of us to be comfortable and satisfied with the information we give and get.