Post by Chris_Wendt on May 23, 2014 12:03:15 GMT -5
There was a highly organized effort in Hempstead to unseat incumbent board members portrayed by their challengers as being incompetent, unqualified, and significant contributors to the academic performance problems in that very troubled school district.
What happened to that challenge?
Well, one member of the two-candidate team was elected, and the other was possibly elected, subject to a count of absentee ballots. Upon counting the absentee ballots, the second challenger "lost" by several votes, while one of the incumbents pulled slightly ahead. That result triggered charges of voting irregularities, and has thrown the election results into delay and confusion. The trailing challenger went to court to freeze all the voting records. The judge threw out the request, citing Education Law which puts appeals in the realm of the Commissioner. The Commissioner will hear the appeal which is expected to take several months, and which will probably be denied unless outright voting fraud can be proven.
All of this sounds like great theatre, until you realize how many millions of your state tax dollars have been wasted in the Hempstead School District, and how many, many more millions of your state tax dollars they are planning to waste in the immediate future, rebuilding or replacing Hempstead's failing schools; schools which are old, but whose failures are not due to their age or want of paint or brick pointing. Or, unless you consider the tragic academic performance and the pathetic graduation rates among the students who are trapped in that hell-hole.
Eligibility and qualifications for people who wish to serve as Trustees on Boards of Education in NY State are very easy, and fail at any measure of accountability for the academic or financial results of their school district. Trustee elections and (re-elections) are generally reduced to amateur popularity contests. While I am not empowered to enact a solution for this malaise, I would suggest that the situation strongly hints at reducing the number of Boards of Education (i.e. school districts), imposing minimum qualifications on prospective board Trustees, and paying them for their service, while holding incumbent Trustees accountable for meeting academic standards and financial results in order to be considered for re-election.
What do you think?
Chris Wendt
What happened to that challenge?
Well, one member of the two-candidate team was elected, and the other was possibly elected, subject to a count of absentee ballots. Upon counting the absentee ballots, the second challenger "lost" by several votes, while one of the incumbents pulled slightly ahead. That result triggered charges of voting irregularities, and has thrown the election results into delay and confusion. The trailing challenger went to court to freeze all the voting records. The judge threw out the request, citing Education Law which puts appeals in the realm of the Commissioner. The Commissioner will hear the appeal which is expected to take several months, and which will probably be denied unless outright voting fraud can be proven.
All of this sounds like great theatre, until you realize how many millions of your state tax dollars have been wasted in the Hempstead School District, and how many, many more millions of your state tax dollars they are planning to waste in the immediate future, rebuilding or replacing Hempstead's failing schools; schools which are old, but whose failures are not due to their age or want of paint or brick pointing. Or, unless you consider the tragic academic performance and the pathetic graduation rates among the students who are trapped in that hell-hole.
Eligibility and qualifications for people who wish to serve as Trustees on Boards of Education in NY State are very easy, and fail at any measure of accountability for the academic or financial results of their school district. Trustee elections and (re-elections) are generally reduced to amateur popularity contests. While I am not empowered to enact a solution for this malaise, I would suggest that the situation strongly hints at reducing the number of Boards of Education (i.e. school districts), imposing minimum qualifications on prospective board Trustees, and paying them for their service, while holding incumbent Trustees accountable for meeting academic standards and financial results in order to be considered for re-election.
What do you think?
Chris Wendt
