I am in total agreement with the tea party movement. Yes, we need to send people to Washington D.C. who will take the helm and steer our country back in the right direction. I have been involved in the Tea Party movement since it’s beginning. My focus was getting the youth of our area involved. Last July I had the honor of helping organize a Youth Tea Party in Laurel. I was excited to see youth awaken to the need to elect officials who understand the founding principals.
While we definitely need a change in Washington, we also need to focus on changing the political landscape at home. The change at the national level must start at the local and state levels. It is usually the local elected officials who move on to higher elected positions.
What about at our own backdoors? Is there a need to change things at home? Have we elected people to office on the local level who have forgotten the principals of our founding fathers?
Since the story of my termination broke last March, people were reminded of what they already knew, there needs to be a change in the Jones Co. School District. Now that things have settled down, school officials have told me that my termination was wrong but they were “powerless” to do anything about it. Powerless? I don’t think that was the issue as it was more the trading of their integrity for security. After seeing the salaries printed in The Review last week, I can see where that would be tempting. Ben Franklin is said to have made the following quote, “Those who would sacrifice their freedom for security deserves neither.” I would add integrity to that quote also. Too many within the district have sat back and allowed a few unethical men to roughshod the whole district. Another quote comes to mind here, “When good men do nothing evil flourishes.”
What needs to be done now is for the good people of Jones County to elect ethical men and women to the school board. This change can begin this November as the Beat V board member, Lester Boyles is up for re-election. Since my termination many people have talked to me about changing the school board. “They need to be voted out.” “They’re not doing the right things and need to go.” But will this talk turn into action?
What qualities should we look for in a school board member? Honesty, integrity and a heart for educating students are just a few of these qualities. But we also need a board member who is willing to challenge the wrong and misguided decisions of the Superintendent. A board member should stand for students, parents and teachers. Teachers need an advocate on the Jones Co. School Board. The current ones treat teachers with little respect for their professions. Teachers are shuffled around and thrown out like cards in a used deck. The current school board have recently infringed on the civil rights of students suppressing their freedom of speech and intimidating students who disagree with their decisions. A board member should also respect parents and listen to their concerns. How can this happen when the board holds most of their meetings in executive session behind closed doors? I have witnessed board meetings where parents were threatened with arrest for challenging these closed door meetings.
We also need board members who understand they work for the people who elected them. They should speak directly to the voters and not allow the board attorney do their talking. Bottom line is Jones County needs to elect someone who is not and has not been a part of the inner circle, the good old boys who have ran the district for much too long.
Here’s something else to think about. With a liberal administration and congress in Washington, what’s going to happen when liberal agendas are mandated to be taught in our schools? This is already happening. Sex education, alternative lifestyles and America bashing are just a few examples that have made its way into our textbooks. I know of some very liberal agendas that are coming that few know about and probably never will with the current leaders in the district. (More on that in another blog.) They have proven themselves to have little integrity and no willingness to stand against anything. So more than likely these liberal agendas will make it into our classrooms in Jones County. But we can do something about this in the coming years.
We can dedicate ourselves to electing a new school board in Jones Co. or continue with the status quo. If we do the latter we fail our children.
Now the question is, who will step up to the plate and run for school board member for Beat V? There is now an effort underway to find a candidate to run against the incumbent from Beat V. If anyone is interested in learning more about this effort join “Jones Co. for a New School Board and Superintendent” on Facebook. Also check back here to my blog for further updates.