Dear editor:
The state requires that school districts utilize a planning process every 6 years and with this brings a new mission and vision statement. The first sentence of the vision statement set to be voted on at the next school board meeting is: "The vision for the future of the Warren County School District is based on what can be accomplished by our community working collaboratively toward a common goal of educational excellence. "
I attended the last special school board meeting. CSOI/ECS talked about working with the district but when they were taught by board President Arthur Stewart the realities of some of their "numbers", they refused to listen. They spent more time telling than asking for information to truly work in a collaborative effort. This is not the first time CSOI/ECS has refused to work collaboratively. Shortly before the past QZAB vote our school board was willing to talk to CSOI/ECS about the charter school but instead there was a refusal to sit down at the table. Why were they willing now? The answer is the vote. They know that the board is holding the cards and CSOI/ECS is trying to tip the hand. After the smoke cleared from the disagreement of numbers, CSOI/ECS became desperate to gain board approval to the point that they were willing to scratch the one thing that made this application truly unique. The one thing that was not a copy and paste of curriculum or a curriculum that once was. Without careful thought or discussion with his own board, ECS board officer Pat Ferrell said they would give up longer school days and form a schedule that would be more cost efficient on the transportation for the district.
I urge the WCSD school board and the WCSD community to recognize that what was offered was nothing but non-legally binding words. This application cannot be decided based on financial implications making the meeting irrelevant to the upcoming vote. The meeting was asked for by CSOI/ECS as a strategic move by a group who refuses to work with the district and promotes regionalism. This application is not about improving education it is about school colors and a building. This was the threat that held our district hostage for years and it is what is distracting our administration from being able to fully focus on the needs and possibilities for the future of our district.
Nicole Peterson
Warren