Even though rumors ran hot and heavy for the past couple of days that Liz Brown would try to punish the parents of Orange County by seeking another divisive term on the Board, it was not to be. To the delight of many (myself included), Liz will not be haunting us for much longer.
Here is the final list of those vying for the seats currently held by Liz and Al Hartkopf, as well as the one recently vacated by Dennis Whitling after being accused, indicted, charged and arrested on multiple felonies.
- Incumbent and Current Board Member Al Hartkopf
- Former Orange County Commissioner Steve Halkiotis
- Former unsuccessful Board Candidate Tony McKnight
- Political newcomer and former School Resource Officer Jeff Michalski
- Political newcomer Eddie Eubanks
- Political newcomer Stan Morris
17 comments:
This is a historical moment. I would have actually supported Liz Brown except for one thing: SHE LIED TO ALL HES PARENTS BY MAKING PROMISES THAT SHE SUPPORTS HES AND YEAR ROUND SCHOOLS. We are not out of the woods yet. She will serve her term thru November this year. Remember, she can cause much harm if she gets Debbie and Susan to follow her lead. Debbie would love to screw over HES for her personal slight several years ago. Susan? Who knows what she's thinking. I would like for Susan to actually participate at board meetings.
We have a great opportunity to get 3 known HES supporters elected in May. Of the six, I don't know of any of them that doesn't support HES. I wonder if any of the candidates are supported by current Board members? Is one of these a Liz clone? I don't know.
There are a few interesting points about this slate of candidates.
First, there are no women candidates for School Board this year. Traditionally speaking, female candidates for School Board always have a better chance of getting elected. It is a good thing Liz Brown decided to quit instead of running for re-election.
Second, there are no candidates who live south of Hillsborough. This is a significant fact because it means these candidates are less likely to be pro-merger with Chapel Hill schools (yes, it is still an issue). Additionally, they are less likely to be as liberal (a.k.a. progressive) as Liz Brown, Dana Thompson, Libbie Hough, or whatever your choice of garden variety tofu eating birkenstock wearing internationalist bookstore award winning hippie may be.
Now it is just a matter of picking the best three candidates who will work together. That is an important goal. The three who get elected need to form a block (plus one currently sitting board member) to outvote the rest of the board and oust Tree-bull as chair.
The election is in May for School Board. While the School Board elections are held on the same day as partisan primaries, the School Board race is non-partisan.
Newly elected members will be sworn-in in July. So just so everyone is clear, Liz Brown will be off the School Board in July.
What a wonderful slate of candidates! I am so proud that we have candidates that can add integrity to the Board. It's great that these candidates are not liars, and they are not crooks. Orange County Schools have let their standards slip by having Dennis and Liz on the Board. As soon as we get rid of Debbie, who is a race baiter, the Board will be full of honest and fair public servants.
About Liz Brown not running:
Part of me is singing like a happy Munchkin "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead"...
...and another part of me is disappointed that she is not running so that I can NOT vote for her. Losing the election would be a real eye-opener for Liz and, I dare say, a huge personal growth experience for her. Of course, I'm sure she's not running BECAUSE she knows she won't win -- she would not intentionally put her ego in such jeopardy.
Two things I've learned from Liz that are not good qualities for BoE members:
1) Taking criticisms of one's ideas personally. When you accept a public office, criticism is part of the landscape. You must be able to handle it, and, more importantly, listen to and consider it.
2) Working solely from "feelings". A Board member can be passionate about something but can't set policy from passion alone. One needs intelligence, insight, planning, compromise, flexibility.... If "feelings" are all you bring to the table, go write poetry, not policy...
I don't think you have heard the end of Liz Brown. She has done an effective job of sterotyping HES as an elitist school. Talk to Cameron Park parents, or Pathways, or.... and you will see that many people believe our intentions are self-serving. She's a loose cannon that will shoot off again.
If I was Debbie, I would be furious that Liz was leaving the Board. Having Liz on the Board was a good buffer for the equally divisive Debbie. I doubt Debbie will step out and be the new "loose cannon" because she won't get any support. Dennis is gone, Liz will be gone, and Susan doesn't like to participate at Board meetings.
I imagine Debbie will soon show her true colors and back off her approach---it won't work!
It should be noted Liz's latest infinite wisdom that she bestoyed upon the county at last night's board meeting. She feels that teachers should not give grades less than 69. It is her opinion that anything less than 69 can be discouraging to students who feel they can not pull their grade up from a 22 (her example).
That's great Liz! Instead of studying for a hard test and making a 72, our students can just show
up, put some scribbles on the paper and receive a 69.
What are you thinking Liz???????
I wouldn't be surprised if Liz doesn't try to go out with a bang. The good thing about it is that she can't do but so much in the next couple of months. She also really does not have any support anymore since Dennis is gone.
It is great to be a part of a school community that sticks together to accomplish something.
At Last night's Board meeting, Chairman Ted Triebel was not happy with this editorial that appeared in the News and Observer.
Editorial:
Test-takers under orders
The principal of Cedar Grove High School in Hillsborough sent three students to the in-school suspension teacher when they refused to take a military aptitude test. That move was over the top, and the Orange County school system should order Principal Gary Thornburg to do an about-face with his policy.
More than 300 juniors at the school are required to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery each year. It was administered recently in the school cafeteria, as a part of a larger career assessment program at Cedar Ridge.
Helping kids decide on careers and courses of study, which the ASVAB does, is fine. But the test is given and graded, for free, by the military in return for the results being sent to military recruiters. One can understand why some students and their parents might object to that arrangement.
The information isn't forwarded to the military if a student signs an opt-out form, but that onus shouldn't be on test-takers.
Wake and Durham county schools offer the ASVAB to students, and that's appropriate. At the state level, the Department of Public Instruction discourages the test's use unless a student has expressed interest in the military.
The three students at Cedar Ridge should have had a right to say no. Frankly, and gee, here's a surprise, they also may have been being a little nonconformist, not unusual for teenagers. The district ought to send Thornburg's ASVAB policy on a 50-mile, one-way hike.
Any HES application discussions at the mtg last night?
So the study continues....You know the "How to alienate every voter" study that the BoE seems to be participating in.
With the 'alleged' criminal gone and the Village Idiot leaving in July, we should be in better shape to start undoing some of the extensive damage done by Ted, Debbie, Liz and Dennis.
First order or business, implement a sensible and stable plan for HES. Long term goals with stages of increased diversity. Start with the incoming kindergarten class and then move the hell on to other problems.
Second - get the $300k back from the government. We can't afford to forfeit that money. We all are aware that the redirecting of funds ploy was a complete lie.
Third - work on over crowding and refurbishing the older schools.
Fourth - get freakin' academics back on the front burner. There is no reason for all of this diversion of attention. It is more important that little Johnny learn than have his Board obsessed with who he sits next to.
Get to the polls people. A year ago today I only knew one board member's name. Oh to be that naive again.
HES Mom
I remember the commercial in the eighties that said "A mind is a terrible thing to waste". Liz Brown is a living example of this commercial. The funny thing about it is that she has recruited 2 of the current Board members to follow her footsteps. For such an educated person, Debbie lacks the basic leadership skills to be her own person. Susan, on the other hand, lacks courage to speak up and be heard.
The last 12 months it seems that the Board of Education has changed their name to "Bored with Education". All of their illegal acts, their selfish, retalitory agendas, and their lack of foresight of the anger and the animosity of their plans. The "not so fab five" of Ted, Dennis, Liz, Debbie, and Susan could care less what anyone thought of their plan. With Ted, his approach is "my way or the highway". With Dennis, well, let's just say his approach to life has been plastered to the papers the last few weeks. With Debbie, it's pure anger and rage that her child was denied admission to HES. With Susan, it's being heavily influenced by Liz. With Liz, her main agenda is to show how she is the only enlightened one while the rest of us are the village idiots.
In May, remember what these members put us through. If you want HES to maintain its high standards, vote for Al, Steve, and Jeff.
Won't we all miss Liz? Someone to entertain us with her flawed logic and her greater than thou attitude? Someone that represents the Board's inability to make a rational decision? It makes me sad that she will leave.
OK, I'm kidding. She's caused my hair to fall out and my heart to skip several beats. People like Liz need to stay away from Education. So the flake is gone, and Dennis is trying to remain a free man, but the Board still has some problems. Debbie has got to go. She doesn't listen to anyone. Instead she justs barks out her feelings. Susan doesn't speak, she just listens.
To the current Board members: we are watching you. Don't break the law anymore.
From Herald-Sun article on Tuesday:
Administrators and district staff will host a free dinner, discussion and tour of the school tonight from 6-7:30. All district parents who are interested in their children attending Hillsborough Elementary or learning more about the school are invited, and child care will be provided.
Anyone know whether the dinner/tour on Tuesday evening was well attended?
What's going on with Attention Orange? I haven't heard anything for a while.
FYI--I heard from someone that Debbie is telling everyone that Attention Orange! is nothing more than an HES fundraiser sponsored by the HES PTA.
Can anyone else confirm this?
If she is reading this blog, and I am sure she is, she certainly knows that is not true.
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