Your Opinion: Ask school candidates to define their roles

Dear Editor:

I want to applaud your staff for the good job of reporting on the candidates for both the JCPS school board and the Jefferson City mayor races. The questions you ask are informative and helpful to me sorting the candidates that speak about my concerns.

I am very interested in electing representatives to the JCPS school board this next election who can address the many concerns voiced by the community, teachers and students over the past year and a half. From many reports in the newspaper, at the summer community open meetings and from teachers themselves it appears the current JCPS board members are more interested in rubber-stamping the JCPS superintendent's plans rather than oversee this position and be our voice in the JCPS district office.

It is odd to hear the JCPS school board say they must all vote in agreement with one another rather than voice dissent when there are questions and concerns that need to be addressed. It is even more concerning when questions are brought forward over many months and years to the JCPS board and there is either no response or a general one given that does not address the problem questioned.

There are two types of governing boards, those that are appointed and serve at the request of an organization (YMCA board) and those that are elected by voters (JCPS board). The duties of the elected school board are to represent their constituents and to provide guidance and direction to the superintendent so the concerns of citizens are brought forward. It is then the superintendent's job to carry out the directive of the school board.

If the JCPS school board acted as an elected type of board they would be a check/balance rather than a rubber stamp for the JCPS district office and their plans.

The current and past JCPS school board reversed these roles and have been a rubber stamp for the superintendent's plans, hence the issues with moral, discipline, overcrowding, loss of excellent teachers and poor implementation of the Academies with overcrowded classrooms not meant for this type of curriculum setting.

Therefore I would encourage the community to ask the question of what type of board do our current set of candidates endorse and if they say an elected type of board how will they bring that forward if they are elected?

This will hopefully ensure the concerns of the community are included as part of the JCPS district's plans rather than ignored.