PTA advocating for School Board candidates?

[kimmimom]

How am i known supporter of Pete?  Because I am a member of the PTA?  Because I have a child in PreK?  Because my daughter was on the bball team that Karen coached?  I would like to know where you got your info?  I have never said who i supported.

[prubinas]

Hi whatsup,

I didn't know I had so many "known supporters" out there already.  kimmimom and I have not discussed my campaign in detail yet.  While her daughter goes to school with my son, I don't think that qualifies her as a supporter until she has more time to hear about my platform and Gene's platform and then make a decision.

I am admittedly new to this forum, but I'm guessing you must be a "known supporter" of someone else.  Regardless, I'd like to hear your ideas about our school system if you are willing to talk with me.

And I'll repeat one more time that I don't think Karen even came close to endorsing me on the PTSA listserv.

Thanks very much.
Pete

[Chathamoriginal]

Each school's PTA is run as an independent non-profit. Being that they can send out emails etc as they see fit. I would trust that an individual PTA would not openly endorse a candidate as I feel it would be impossible to reach consensus within the ranks to do such. I do think however they can and should relay announcements to their membership regardless if it is a candidacy announcment. So long as the PTA does not openly endorse a candidate AND gives each and every BOE candidate the same courtesy I have no problem with their forwarding such emails. Gene and Mia should be typing their letters now.

[Gene Galin]

Gene and Mia should be typing their letters now.

I waited until lunchtime to get my note together. Being a multi-media type I also had to toss in some video clip links.

Here's what I just sent over to Karen -

Karen –

I am so very happy to see you open up the Perry Harrison School PTSA email list
to all Board of Education candidates. It is good to have another communications
venue to reach out to parents. Thanks so much for all you do at PHS.

For those Perry Harrison parents who missed the BOE meeting the following are
some links to video clips of the meeting so you can see and hear some of what
went on –

Video: Chatham interim School Superintendent David Bryant gives his report at
the Chatham School Board meeting at
http://chathamjournal.net/podcasts/2008/02/26/video-chatham-interim-school-super
intendent-david-bryant/

Video: PHS & Northwood mom Connie Forbes talks about brick fundraiser for
Northwood at

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8uBwLDKYZko&amp;rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/8uBwLDKYZko&amp;rel=0</a>

Video: Analysis of Growth in Chatham County, NC at

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DynFjfVDQ9o&amp;rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DynFjfVDQ9o&amp;rel=0</a>

Note the last line spoken in the video: “There is no doubt the growth potential
is there”

You can view a series of clips I have recorded from previous BOE meetings at
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=genefoto&p=r

Some quick notes -

Note #1

There was a quote from a statement on the bulletin board – “In light of the
Northwood and Jordan Matthews expansions, OR/Ed. Lab’s recommendation for a new
Northeast high school impacting both Northwood and Jordan Matthews is no longer
valid to address short-term capacity gap.”

The qualifier in the statement here is "short-term".

I did have a chance to talk to the two NC State statisticians after their
presentation. We discussed statistical models (guess those stat classes in
business school proved to be helpful) and not policy.

1. They did not include any charter school #s. Why? They said they did not have
access to those numbers in the same way they have access to the school system
numbers. They also said that they have found charter school #s to be extremely
variable and they can fluctuate based on assorted factors.

2. They did not build in a variable that would take into account that that there
is a "ceiling" to potential growth at a school simply due to it's physical
constraints. The drop in growth of students going into Northwood and
Jordan-Matthews may be due in part to parents finding alternatives.

I don't think it would be out of the realm of possibility, given the growth we
have seen at both North Chatham and Perry Harrison, that once these new schools
are built that there would be an accelerated student growth.

Therefore, IMHO, it would be foolish and irresponsible to delay building the new
schools on schedule and planning for the growth beyond these two schools.

In the "short-term" the economic slowdown has simply provided us with a chance
to not fall further behind.

Note #2

During the school board meeting there was the announcement that the Chatham food
services lost about $487,000 in five months.

This number does not make sense to me given that the school food service lost
about $100,000 the previous year, and $50,000 the year before that.

A five-fold increase in the amount on money seems a little hinkey (that's what
my Canadian cousins used to say).

I will need to take a closer look at the numbers.

Feel free to pass along any questions and I’ll try to find the answers or simply
share your concerns with the greater community by posting them on the Chatham
Online Bulletin Board  at
http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php?board=8.0

Note #3

View a copy of the new school superintendent’s school survey and see what
teachers and staff are looking for in a new superintendent at
http://chathamjournal.net/2008pdf/Supt_survey-staff.pdf

Only by working together will we be able to guarantee “something good is going
to happen today” in our schools.

Gene
galinforschoolboard.com

[dkemom2]

flint and pete? 

Is that the 'ticket'?

[kimmimom]

and for those who are not on PHS PTA list serve, Gene's post was sent out.  No discrimination. 

Better explain how I know this or word will get out I am a Gene supporter or a karen supporter or a "who knows who" supporter...I received the email from PTA PTSA.

Once I read the intro from Karen and saw it was the same post that gene posted here word for word, i hit delete because I had not need to read it again b/c I had read it here.  Simple thing to do and something we can all do if a post doesn't apply to us, we have already read it elsewhere, doesn't interest us, whatever.  Doesn't ruin my day. 

Karen did not endorse Gene either. ACeeptable for  a PTA email IMO. 

[dkemom2]

Heather...you old pot stirrer....and I see nothing wrong with stirring the pot.


ptsa/pta organizations can send out information about candidates, they can host debates, individuals like Karen can of course support anyone they please as long as they don't use any pta funds or meetings to do so. (This would include the wearing of campaign buttons while conducting a pta meeting....found that out the hard way)  As an individual she can put 100 Pete/flint bumper stickers on her van and park it in front of the school all day. It's called free speech...I know that one has sort of slipped off the repulican radar, but it's still there.
pta org. cannot endorse a candidate.  But I think it is their right and duty to use to pta to educate people about the candidates and the issues.

You cannot seperate government and education.....as much as that would be a boon to us all.

[Chathammommy]

Heather,

I do not see anything wrong with anyone on the PTSA sending out information regarding the new candidates for the school board. I actually welcome the information and appreciate that someone willing to keep the parents informed.

It is nice to have someone who is not biased keeping the parents informed.

Heather, it looks like you have too much time on your hand.

[munn5]

I've been out of town (without a computer) since Tuesday helping my mother-in-law. I'll send information about my campaign and a request for it to be distributed to PHS over the weekend. That way all four candidates will have the same exposure to the Perry Harrision PTA. I will not seek to distribute my information through the PTAs at the other schools, unless the other candidates do this.

Mia Munn
miamunn4chathamschools@earthlink.net

[dkemom2]

It won't much matter who you support in District 2 now that David Hamm has entered the race.

He is the good old boy candidate sent in to represent the 'old school' coalition. There was talk of dusting off Cadle, but I guess he's had enough (23 years??)  Hamm was principal of PBE and not entirely popular.  He's a 'his way or the highway' guy. 

If Paul and Gene both run, they will split the vote and Hamm will win.  I guarantee it. And then we'll be headed BACK in the wrong direction.

[whatsup]

It won't much matter who you support in District 2 now that David Hamm has entered the race.

He is the good old boy candidate sent in to represent the 'old school' coalition. There was talk of dusting off Cadle, but I guess he's had enough (23 years??)  Hamm was principal of PBE and not entirely popular.  He's a 'his way or the highway' guy. 

If Paul and Gene both run, they will split the vote and Hamm will win.  I guarantee it. And then we'll be headed BACK in the wrong direction.

It's sad, but dkemom2 is probably right. We have seen enough multi-candidate races in this county to see this happen multiple times.

I know that Earnst Dark won in 2000 with less than 50% of the vote when he had several candidates run against him. In 2004 Earnest lost to Holly in a one on one.

I would hate to see us fall back to the old ways (ugh).

Gene has my vote this year. With a little seasoning Pete might be a good choice in the future.

I don't know enough about either candidate in the race in district #1 to have any opinions yet.

[chathambred]

It won't much matter who you support in District 2 now that David Hamm has entered the race.

He is the good old boy candidate sent in to represent the 'old school' coalition. There was talk of dusting off Cadle, but I guess he's had enough (23 years??)  Hamm was principal of PBE and not entirely popular.  He's a 'his way or the highway' guy. 

If Paul and Gene both run, they will split the vote and Hamm will win.  I guarantee it. And then we'll be headed BACK in the wrong direction.

Who "sent" Hamm in?  Nobody is "entirely popular."  That is a fact of life.
We already have a "his way or the highway"   member on board, and everyone on here seems to love it!
Maybe Hamm is just what is needed since he has firsthand experience and knowledge of the school system.

[thinkinboudit]

A coworker whose wife teaches in Chatham has suggested looking at the Pittsboro Elementary results stacked up by Hamm. What could the school system possibly gain by putting a man like that on the school board?  Watch what he has done, not so much as what he says.

[dkemom2]

He is from the 'old guard', I'm telling you they want a foot back in the door.

There was talk of bringing back Cadle Cooper as late as last week but he could not be convinced. Dark was also mentioned.
So, why not Hamm.

And he WILL WIN if there are the three in the race to split the vote.

Watch and see.

[belle]

quick question. will this board select the new superintendent? when will s/he be hired?

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