Showing the Orange

In support of Attention Orange, I am turning my blog orange for the day.

You can show your support by wearing orange at tonight's Orange County Board of Education meeting. The meeting details are below:

What: Orange County Board of Education Regular Meeting
When: Monday, February 18, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
Where: Orange County Schools Central Office
200 King Street
Hillsborough, NC 27278

Agenda

While the meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:00, if you want a seat, you will need to be there early. Also, if you want to share your comments with the Board, you will need to sign up before the meeting begins.

I hope to see many of you there.

Do I need to hear more?

I must admit that I wouldn't know former County Commissioner Steve Halkiotis if I stood in line behind him at Cup A Joe tomorrow morning. Of course the same would have been true of any current Board member exactly a year ago today.

As I have said many times in the past, I never paid much attention to Orange County politics before the fiasco of merging Central and Hillsborough Elementary schools was proposed late last February. [Can you believe this farce has been going on for nearly a full year?]

Not personally knowing either of the people who have filed paperwork to run for an open seat on the Orange County Board of Education left me at something of a loss in drawing an early opinion about either.

Thankfully one of our local newspapers has offered an insight into Mr. Halkiotis' thinking that has played heavily into my early belief that he is a candidate I should support - both with my vote and my money.

In an article in the N&O's Chapel Hill News, Mr. Halkiotis specifically cited the Board's attack on HES as a prime reason for his entering the race:

"I've been extremely befuddled why you'd want to take the best performing elementary school -- the most successful program you've got -- and for some reason water all that down to help Central Elementary," Halkiotis said.

Central needs help, and Efland-Cheeks Elementary School after that, he said. But not at Hillsborough Elementary's expense. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," he said.

After reading such a rational and reasoned perspective from a school board candidate, I have just one more question:

Where can I send my campaign donation?

Wake Up HES Update

Again this afternoon, concerned parents passed out flyers in the HES pick-up lines.

Here is the full text of the flyer:

WAKE UP HES

On Wednesday evening, Attention Orange held its first meeting. There is much work to do:

* Attend this Monday's School Board meeting: 7pm, Central Office Building (200 East King Street, Hillsborough). To show our solidarity, please wear ORANGE! While there has been some talk of gathering outside with signs, upon further examination, signs are problematic. It is more important we be sitting in the Board room when school board members and central office staff arrive, and signs are not allowed in the Board room.

* Inquire about and DONATE to Attention Orange, the major grassroots effort to legally challenge the Board. You may donate anonymously and electronically by visiting http://savehes.blogspot.com and selecting "Donate". You may use credit, debit, or your PayPal account to donate directly. To find out more about Attention Orange, please submit inquiries to attentionorange@yahoo.com.

Attention Orange hired an attorney who is aggressively moving forward. Orange County Schools has been notified of the grievance and given a short response period. If the board does not end it's expulsion of HES students, a cease and desist injunction will follow.

It is imperative that we work together as an HES family. The future of our school is at stake. We cannot do it without you.

* Get the word out. Many in our HES family are completely unaware of the recent school board decisions and imminent threat to our school.

Reputable attorneys are expensive - HES is worth it!

Ignored no more

The mother of a child in Orange County Schools was kind enough to send me a Letter to the Editor she has submitted for printing by the News of Orange, the Durham Herald-Sun and the Raleigh News & Observer. (If any of them print her letter, I will link to it.)

[Update: Ms. Chandler's letter was printed in the N&O's Chapel Hill News on Sunday Feb. 17. Ut appeared in the Durham Herald-Sun on Tuesday, Feb. 19. I have still seen nothing in our hometown newspaper, the News of Orange.]

Dear Editor,

The right to challenge elected officials and express dissent at policies with which there is disagreement are foundations to the concept of American democracy. However, occasionally a board of elected officials behaves in such a way that even these most basic of rights are ignored. This is the case with the current Orange County School Board. There is an attitude that permeates this Board that is most unbecoming. As a parent of children in Orange County schools, I have witnessed some disturbing behavior over this past year. Comments made by Board members during open meetings, comments made between Board members and other parents, and comments made to the media by various Board members have left many parents feeling intimidated and undermined: bullied into submission rather than engaged in their children's learning. In short, parents fear speaking out against this Board for fear of unfair retaliation. I would have hoped that the current Chair, with his long military career, would have understood and honored this most important of American ideals.

In addition, the secretive methods employed by this Board only exaggerate these fears. For example, I have met many parents who feel as if the “real” conversations about Board policies do not occur in the Board room in public as they should be, but rather occur after hours, during frequent lunch outings among Board members, or in communications that are not in the public sphere. Doesn’t this undermine the transparency that is required of a school board? It is time that the voters of Orange County step up and reclaim for themselves what belongs to them. Hopefully on May 6th they will.

A.R. Chandler

Efland, NC

The fact that I have heard many parents speak of fearing their children will be targeted by the Orange County Board of Education if they dare to raise their voices against the travesty occurring on King Street, tells me that this parent's concerns are mirrored in homes all over the county.

The best way Orange County parents can fight back against these schoolyard bullies is to support the only grassroots effort using the rule of law to oppose this rogue Board - Attention Orange.

If you care about fairness in Orange County Schools and the "concept of American Democracy", please support Attention Orange with your thoughts and prayers, but most importantly at this critical time, with your money. Please donate to Attention Orange!

Wake Up HES

In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, a group of concerned parents were passing out orange flyers to parents in the HES pick-up lines.

Here is the full text of the flyer:

WAKE UP HES

It is time for HES families to make a stand.

Whether or not your child is grandfathered, their continuing education at HES is at stake. Once the Orange County School Board succeeds in depopulating HES through their current plan, the Board will have all it needs to justify closing HES and ending the year round program.

There are things we can do:

• Sign up for free or reduced lunch. If your family qualifies, even if you still intend to send in lunch money, please sign up. Then sign up again at the beginning of the new school year. According to OCS Administration, free and reduced lunch numbers will be the measure of diversity.
• Inquire about and donate to Attention Orange, the major grassroots effort to legally challenge the Board. Attention Orange has retained an attorney who is aggressively moving forward. You may donate anonymously and electronically by visiting http://savehes.blogspot.com and selecting "Donate." You may use credit, debit or your PayPal account to donate directly. Next week Attention Orange will hold a meeting. To find out more, please submit inquiries to attentionorange@yahoo.com .
• Share this information with others.

Together we can make a difference.

Together we can save our school for our children and those to come.

Attention Orange Update

I have received a great deal of positive response to my earlier blog posting and the email I sent regarding the efforts of the newly-formed grassroots group Attention Orange.

Judging from the number of messages I have received offering support, there is a great deal of interest in becoming directly involved in the fight against Orange County's rogue Board of Education.

In response to the outpouring of support for the group, the founders have asked me to post the following:

"Attention Orange will be holding a meeting next week. If you would like to attend to gather additional information about the group, please email attentionorange@yahoo.com with your contact information. You will then receive information regarding the meeting time and place. We need everyone's support! Families that are grandfathered in may not be directly affected but your friends and neighbors will be, please come to support your HES family in this important fight. We look forward to seeing all of you there!"

Until the meeting, there is one thing every parent can do to help - join me in contributing to the group's legal expenses. You can easily contribute using the "Donate" button on the right side of this blog.

Attention Orange!

The Orange County Board of Education's efforts to expel children from HES based simply upon how much money their parents earn is about to enter an entirely new stage.

In an attempt to level the playing field with this runaway Board, a number of Orange County parents (not including me) have formed a grassroots organization to provide the parents of children in Orange County with a voice the Board cannot ignore - Attention Orange.

In its first action, Attention Orange retained an attorney to review the Board's actions with regard to the new HES student expulsion plan. Unfortunately, top-flight attorneys do not come cheap, even if the cause is right and just.

As such, Attention Orange has asked for help in publicizing their efforts, and asked me to encourage my readers to make contributions to help cover the attorney's fees.

After speaking at length with two members of the group, I am convinced that it is legitimate and that all funds will be handled with the utmost honesty.

Additionally, the group has agreed to regularly provide a detailed accounting of all spending and has promised to donate any funds they collect, above and beyond what is needed to pay the attorney, to the Hillsborough Elementary School PTA.

Given the disdain this Board has repeatedly shown for the community it supposedly serves, I believe that a properly funded legal defense fund is the only way Orange County's parents can have a voice in where their children attend school.

For these reasons, I have already donated to the group, and I encourage every parent in Orange County to do the same.

To make things easier and more efficient, Attention Orange has set up a PayPal account through which people can make donations. You can donate using your credit or debit card, or an existing PayPal account balance by clicking the button below or on the right side of this page.

Your children's education could quite literally depend on the support we provide this group of concerned parents. Please give whatever you can afford. No amount is too small.

For more information on Attention Orange, or to get involved, you can contact the group at: AttentionOrange@yahoo.com.