And not one second more

Your child's education is apparently only worth three minutes of the Orange County Board of Education's precious time.

Mirroring the rules imposed on people who wish to voice their opinions at regularly scheduled Board meetings, the rules for the upcoming merger "Q&A session" at Hillsborough Elementary School have been released.

Below is the full text of a letter presumably sent home earlier this week with every child currently attending the school:

August 21, 2007

Dear Parents,

The HES PTA is hosting the Orange County Board of Education members on Tuesday, August 28th from 7-9pm in the HES Cafeteria. The topic of our question/answer session will be the merger proposal between Central Elementary and HES. This is parents' opportunity to ask specific questions of board members and hear a direct response to their question. We encourage all parents to attend whether you have a question you'd like to ask, or if you are interested in gathering more information about the merger proposal.

In order to conduct the meeting efficiently, the HES PTA has determined the following format:

• The meeting will begin promptly at 7pm.
• Questions/discussion will be limited to those about the merger only.
• If parents would like to ask a question to make a comment, you will be asked to sign-in at the door.
• Parents will be called forward in the order in which they signed up to address the Board of Education members.
• There will be a 3 minute time restriction on questions/comments. There will be no limit on board members' responses.
• The HES PTA Executive Board will moderate the session.
• All comments/questions must be respectful and considerate of the Board of Education members, HES parents and staff, and the surrounding community.

To date, we have confirmed attendance from the following Board of Education members: Al Hartkopf, Anne Medenblik, Ted Triebel, and Dennis Whitling. All Board of Education members were invited. We hope to hear a response from other Board of Education members over the coming week.

The perception of the HES community has been less than positive. This is our opportunity to show the Board of Education and the surrounding community what a wonderful, supporting, and friendly environment HES is. Please mark your calendars to attend. The more parent participation in this event, the larger the demonstration of our commitment to year-round education. We look forward to seeing you on August 28th.

PTA Executive Board
Jackie Mignosa
Ashley Ward
Kathy Hartkopf
Teresa Tate