What do you think about school board members being authorized to go anywhere, in any school of the district at any time, unaccompanied, with no prior warning?
The school district is a publicly funded entity. Should there be any restriction at all on; where the duly elected representatives of the public can go, with whom they can speak, or what they can see? Of course we can assume the board member passes the same type of background check that any of our teachers must pass.
I feel like this is a pretty good idea.
Would it undermine a principal’s authority? Would it sidestep the board’s appointed superintendent? Perhaps, but I’m not entirely convinced that the superintendent, or the principal need to be the ultimate focus of concern in a public school. I think we need to be most concerned with the education of our students.
I would honestly like to hear from our teachers. Would it help you to have a member of the school board spend some time in your classroom, to see some of the challenges you face daily?
I would like to hear from parents of school-aged children. Would you like an extra set of caring, and assumedly competent, eyes in your children’s schools?
I cannot imagine how it would do anything but help the board, who are ultimately responsible for the expenditure of taxpayer funds, understand how things truly are, and how things can improve.
I think we all recognize that something is going to have to change. This particular change is essentially free, and might provide invaluable understanding.