PROSSER -- Two Prosser High School seniors have been appointed student representatives to the Prosser School Board.
Hanna Rankin and Joshua Falce started Monday, the district said in a news release. They will attend board meetings and provide the student perspective on policies and procedures, but they won't be allowed to make motions or vote, the release said.
This is the first time Prosser has had student representatives to the board. The other school board in the Tri-City area to have student representatives is the Pasco School Board.
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Fast Focus: No to charter schools!
Fast Focus: No to charter schools!
These schools are governed by private school boards selected by a nonprofit corporation rather than elected by the citizens, taking away the right to elect representatives to oversee the spending of taxpayers' funds. Charter schools will be exempt from state statutes and rules applicable to school districts and boards, creating a separate and unequal school system. The Supreme Court just ruled the state is not funding the public schools it already has, let alone any new ones.
If the idea sounds good, then allow public schools the flexibility to create schools within the existing districts that will meet the needs of the students. -- Judy Golberg, Richland
Richland schools: Donahoe
Richland schools: Donahoe
I would like to express my support for Rick Donahoe to continue to serve on the Richland School Board. I've met with Rick to better understand his perspectives on education and to discuss some of the current concerns.
As a professor of education, I am intimately aware of issues facing students, and as a consequence, the school board. Rick has the management experience to deal effectively with our current budget concerns and is conversant on effective learning strategies.
The students in our public schools are increasingly representative of the diverse community we serve. As a consequence, our schools must adapt to effectively serve them. To become citizens of the global community, it is imperative our children are challenged to think from multiple perspectives. Rick is a strong advocate for the liberal education of all of our students.
Prosser librarians
Prosser librarians
The Prosser School Board recently voted to convert librarians to classroom teachers. As classroom teachers, the librarians will be fine instructors, because after all, they are trained teachers. It is the librarians who will suffer.
Fred Bray summarized the librarians' responsibilities to students and staff. However, there is one area he missed which is important. That is collection development. Every school is different, with different needs. A resident librarian knows what to add and what to discard to keep the collection current and relevant for all.
One librarian rotating to all schools is a horrible solution for one librarian. The job is too large for one day a week at each school.
Kennewick schools: Mabry, Messinger, Brooks
Kennewick schools: Mabry, Messinger, Brooks
Elections allow us to influence the finances, planning and policies of governing bodies. One of the most important is our school board, charged with educating our children.
My years in public service convinced me of the need to elect informed, outstanding citizens who have no other desire than doing what's best for students. It's not good policy to elect folks beholding to employee groups.
I'm a big fan of educators. My mother was one. But I seriously question whether school employees can serve on a local school board without an inherent conflict of interest. Elected representatives must answer to the public's investment in schools, not the desires of employee groups. Just as the nation's highly respected military does not set its own missions, educators should be directed by a citizen board regarding key mission and policy decisions.
Kennewick club policy
Kennewick club policy
"Our first priority is the safety of Kennewick School District students and staff." That goal was created by the Kennewick School Board. However, the recently passed board policy disallowing noncurricular clubs access to school media, and their suspension of contracts that pay for club advisers, sent the message they think most students should feel safe at school, and that most students should participate in extracurricular activities.
By passing this ill-conceived policy, the board said they are willing to jeopardize all noncurricular student involvement to prevent involvement by a few students. They also, perhaps unwittingly, made students who want to form a gay-straight alliance club, vulnerable to harassement by students who might blame them for not being allowed to use school media to advertise their own clubs.
This recent unanimous vote by the school board (now scheduled for reconsideration) sent the wrong message. Part of keeping students safe is teaching and modeling tolerance. No matter how a
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