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Show THE SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - Page 4 &HB IT'S SPRINGTIME Supports school board completely The San Juan Record welcome letter from our reader. Letter to the Editor must be: No more than 3S0 words Signed Include the authors address and phone number The San Juan Record reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and to eliminate libelous or tasteless material. Let Us Help Dear Editor: I am sure the principal of the ARL School has done many fine things. I do not know him and cannot judge. Many have been critical of the Board of Educations action failing to renew his contract. I called some school board members and stated: "Please do not tell me the reasons for this action. Just answer two questions: 1. Are the reasons for this action serious enough to justify the action? 2. Is the board unanimous in taking the action? If the answers to both are yes, I support the board completely. I can envision a score of scenarios where public disclosure of their reasons might hurt innocent people. If the board exercises their discretion to not make their reasons public, I respect their judgment I do not presume to be smarter than the board, and I do not need to second guess them. We elected the board members to make these tough decisions, and this is obviously an unpopular one. I refuse to believe the board acted flippantly without due consideration, or had ulterior motives to hide personal prejudices. Gossip is Blendings 1 industry, and there are a number of who cannot stand not being privy to the minute details of every scandal. Td them I recommend the OUeily Factor. tie Lamar Gibbons, MD busy-bodi- The San Juan Record HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH SINCE 1915 "an awardwnning es School Board sidesteps accountability NEWSPAPER Pubisher-Edt- or BILL BOYLE Offioe Manager TERRY CRAMER Paste-u- -- p Ad Design AMANDA HILLHOUSE Proofreader DAWN BOYLE Offioe Assistant NICOLE BYRNES Writers ANNA THAYN FREDA ARON NELL DALTON MAXINE DEETER MARY LOU HOGGARD LEOPLATERO GARY TORRES TERRI WINDER SUBSCRIPTION RATES San Juan County Outside County - USA APO or FPO address Newsstand $15 $18 $18 50e Sr. Citizen Sr. Out of County $14.50 $17.50 PHONE & FAX 435-587-22- 77 sjmewsQaol.com WEB PAGE www.utahpress.conV sanjuanrecord To have a sample copy sent to a friend, send in his or her address. Write to PO Box 879, Monticello, ITT 84535. Copyright, The San Juan ReootdO, 1998. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse or transmittal of all matter herein is prohibited without prior written permission by the pubisher. ISSN PuNWwd 0894-327- week at Main, MontfcaiOiOtaK 3 49 SouSi Pariodinl postage paid rt Mondoado, Utah (I86N0B94-3273- ). 4535 Paatmaatar; Sand aN addraaa ahangaa to P.0. Bos STS, Utah S453S. Tha San Juan Resort la a member ol ManSaaSB. wm um rms rhombmi n Ndtonri HMMpapar AhooMml Dear Editor "It is not our fault. So and so made us do it. Sidestepping accountability is one of the oldest maneuvers used by mankind. The Old Testament indicates that Adam blamed "the woman, when challenged for breaking a commandment, and Eve blamed "the serpent". If you face a challenge, be sure you have a plan for shifting the blame to someone else. At last weeks School Board meeting, the Board President imposed a gag order prohibiting ANY comment by ANY citizen about the character or professional competence ofANY school district employee. He blamed this action on Dr. Peterson, based on advice from legal council. It was supposedly Dr. Petersons fault, because he would not sign a legal document waiving his constitutional rights to due process in dealing with his employer, the school district, for the rest of his lifetime, and his passing this restriction an to his heirs, and executors after his death. The sentence in the statement stating that Dr. Peterson is desirous for the Board to hear comments from the public is totally false. He did not ask me, the Board or anyone else to have this discussed in an open meeting. Somehow, if Dr. Peterson wouldnt sign a false statement it was his fault that the School Board decided to suppress all discussion. Is that the way things work in America, folks? I have had several legal professionals read this waiver. Their re- d sponses all point out that this is the most legal document All Some have seen. said its it is grossly legality. questioned they unfair. All said they would never advise a client to sign such a waiver for an employer in any profession for any reason. Would you ever sign such a waiver? Would you want anyone stupid enough to sign this waiver to work around you or your children? ' I have had more than ten years experience working closely with the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. Until last week, I thought I had seen political arrogance at its ultimate. On April 17th at the School Board meeting, our School Board and District Administrator exceeded the worst I ever experienced in Washington. The Boards policy of scheduling "citizen comments is such a farce. They remained stone silent, or said "no comment after each speaker from the public, regardless of the subject or question expressed by a citizen. This approach did not serve to improve public trust, respect or confidence in their accepting accountability for their official behavior regarding students. Posted on the wall was the following statement: "Unite, Educate, Empower: The mission of the San Juan School District is to unite parents, students, educators, and communities to enable all students to become empowered, literate, and and productive citizens. I heard people smirk after reading this and make comments like "yeah, right!" It is shocking to see how slow these public servants are to learn that they invite trouble when they demonstrate an attitude of arrogance, smugness, superiority, and disdain for the citizens for whom they work. Our School District has had for too many lawsuits. All at taxpayer expense. A historically common factor leading to these lawsuits is the refusal by public officials to communicate with the unhappy party at the early stages of challenge. This frustrates people. This causes people to think that court action is the only way to get satisfaction. The issue of Dr. Peterson returning to ARL School next year is now dead. The issue of accountability of our school district employees and Board members for educating our children is not dead. Their behavior and their decisions ARE the publics business. Our children attend "public schools. These officials should NOT be allowed to stonewall public concerns. Their stonewall is built on a foundation of sand. It is also full of holes. More to come. General (Retired) Lynn Stevens, Msyor We will Make Your Lawn Beautiful aerate power rake vacuum your lawn Your and grass will be GREEN HEALTHY without having to water constantly Call 435-587-31- 91 Serving Monticello and Blandins in n ii ii mi n n n ii n n ii n it KNDERSJDNROUIMERIEIIL'D INSURANCE AGENCY REAL ESTATE CLOSINGS TITLE INSURANCE SERVING SAN JUAN & GRAND COUNTIES Daniel G. Anderson & Glenna Oliver Monticello 81 E 100 S Moab 1030 S Bowling Alley Ln Email: aotitleaotitle.com Fax Website: www.aotitle.com 435-587-33- 44 435-259-54- 75 435-259-27- A $500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who were responsible for the "hit and run of in Black Oils lot at 33 Black Oils Peterbilt semi-tractN. Main in Monticello. or occured the night of March 8 or early morning of March 9, 2001 . if you have any information concerning this crime, please contact the Monticello Police Department at or Burton Black at Black Oil, Thank You The un 435-587-22- 800-748-543- 73 2. one-side- well-adjust-ed OF SAVINGS NoVunApy1 you can get installation andjhe 1 st rribnth Basic Service for FREE k Get the Starz and Encore Movie Channels FREEo the PEAK CABLE VISION 1st month tool Some restrictions apply CALL 800-924-76- 62 www.peakcable.com |