It's a Wrap

On June 18th, Mr.Winkler's seat on the SUSD Board of Trustees was vacated based on the outcome of an ongoing domicile/residence investigation.

When we work together, parents, teachers, administrators, media, everyone, toward a common goal and put our (political) differences aside there is nothing we can't accomplish. We are really proud of our community for taking a stand for our children and our community. 

There were many lessons to be learned here. Here are a few that come to mind:

Candidates need to be vetted better to uncover possible risks and concerns before we get someone onto the ballot and before we vote (or don't vote) resulting in an outcome. Don't rely on a group's or individuals' endorsement of a candidate as a sign that the candidate is truly fit for office. Ask questions - ask the candidate and ask the endorsing groups what they know and don't know about the candidate. The school board is just as important, if not more so, as state and national elections.

VOTE! Voters need to do their homework and show up and vote. Mr.Winkler won his seat with a very low number of votes (2,518). It would have taken four times as many petition signatures from registered voters in the district to get a recall action on the ballot if his seat had not been vacated due to violation of code 1770 (residency). An ounce of prevention, folks!

Parents need to be engaged and involved, attending board meetings in their kids' school district, and being aware of key players, concerns, etc. Many are. But many more are not. Let's tip the scales and commit to ensuring that more of us are active and involved. Not everyone can do everything so commit to doing at least one thing to increase your awareness of what's happening in the schools. It takes a village!

Teachers, administrators and board members need to seek out parents and media support when something troubling is happening. We've demonstrated that we can and will heed the call , bring resources to bear and press for resolution. While an investigation had begun months earlier, new key evidence (court docs) surfaced only recently due to a grass roots effort to bring these issues to the public eye. Our community is filled with resourceful, connected and concerned citizens who will go to the ends of the earth to protect and help our kids. Use us!

Even a single parent or small group of parents or teachers can make a huge difference for the children and the community. Don't ever think there's nothing that you can do to bring about positive change.

If you see other lessons from this, please share!