Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Thoughts on the Candidates Forum...

Posted by Admin. at 3/23/2011 09:14:00 AM

7 comments:

Curious George said...

I thought that the candidates were well prepared and they all presented themselves well.

It appears that the incumbents are planning on staying the "mission". It's ashame that one of them could not make it. I can only assume that they are all on the same page as they are running as a team.

I took away that their mission is to continue to spend our money on SBE even tho the program is not proven and that 70% of the parents involved in the pilot were not satisfied.

That no one is at fault for the $132,000 oversight. Really???

That the incumbents don't really see a need for broadcasting schoolboard or townhall meetings (as only one person shows up for board meetings so what's the use).

And basically if you vote for the incumbents it will be status quo.
I don't know about you, but I think that it's time for a change!

March 23, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Gillman Rockrohr and Scaletta Supporter, after last night! said...

OMG! Is there wall big enough for us all to bang our heads against? If no change can happen without a majority vote, it seems like without all 3 challengers getting on the board, none of their well stated missions for improvements will heed any call or make any difference. We need all three of the challengers to get on! How can we make that happen? All the challengers were impressive with their knowledge and their ability to express themselves at the forum. Even if they all don't agree on everything....even if they have different approaches to overseeing this district... that is better yet! WE NEED healthy discussion and at times debate to do what is right for all our kids. That is infact the only way to ensure democracy. ree of thChallengers please The incumbents looked so pathetic that we as a community must work together to get responsible and responsive people on this board. Everybody, please talk to the three challengers and convince them to combine their resources to the advantage of getting all three on this board. Poor Karen O'Halleron who has raised unanswered objections for two years! How can we as a community let this continue... It was no ones faulth that the district was fined $132,000.00? Shame on you Mr. Rigley and Mrs. Houk for supporting that lie! It was both of your jobs to make sure that the superintendent modified every teacher and admin. contract to include the change in the law to avoid the district getting the fine. You didn't do the work in 2005 that you were elected to do and as a result the district lost $132,000.00 of funds that our teachers need to better educate our kids. Stop avoiding the truth and making excuses and just admit that you have erred again and again!!!!!

March 23, 2011 at 11:01 AM
Julie Ryan said...

I thought that everyone did a great job last night. We should all be glad that the PTA took the time and energy to create this event. However why didn't anyone get the word out about it? Where were all the parents? We have 500 families in our school, where were they at? Did they even know about the forum? How did we let the rest of the publc know about the forum? I know the park was letting us use its building but couldnt they have put it on the sign? I hope that more parents and members of our community come out and vote. It is so sad to see that there is such a small number of parents that care enough to take the time out of there busy days. On that note it was too bad that they decided not to let the event be taped because I believe that there are many parents that would have come on here and veiwed the forum and maybe would've changed there minds on which canidates they were supporting. If it wasn't for the yard signs I think most people wouldnt even know that the incumbants are being oppossed! I hope that everyone gets out and votes and when your there think long and hard about your children and do whats best for them not whats popular!! Its time for change!!! Good luck to all the canidates!

March 23, 2011 at 1:03 PM
Admin. said...

Thank you all for your comments.

To answer your question Julie, Dr. Fredisdorf goes out of his way to make sure very little information is shared with the school community or the community in general for that matter.

The bottom line is he didn't want anyone to be at the forum. He doesn't want people to know the truth about issues facing our district. If it isn't about test scores or something to make himself and his board look better, he won't publish it or promote it.

He wouldn't post information on the school website that three board seats were up for re-election until he absolutely had to by law. He did not, as he has done in the past, upload the nominating petitions and other papers needed to run.

He does not want change on his board because he does not want independent thinkers. He wants to control everything. It's how it has always been and will continue to be until a change on the board is made.

It was his decision to go from a weekly Friday packet to an occasional Friday packet. It was his decision to make it available online so less people will read it. It is his decision what goes on the marquis outside the school. He doesn't want to improve communication. He doesn't want to make things better.

The less people know the better it is for him.

March 23, 2011 at 5:57 PM
Lone Ranger said...

I thought Gina Nelson brought up some good points and really did her homework. I know some people don't always agree with her approach, but you cannot argue that she knows her stuff and is passionate about Pleasantdale. I was very impressed with Steve Rockrohr and Doug Gilman - they would make excellent additions to the Board. I like Lisa Houk. She is intelligent and seems to really care about the school and community. I thought Rick Rigley came off arrogant and a little too defensive. Did not feel he was very relateable. If anything comes out of the forum, I hope that the present school board as well as Dr. Fredisdorf realize there are some concerns about how the Board communicates as well as the SBG program. I agree we have an excellent school district, however, I believe there are some areas in which there could be definite improvements.

March 24, 2011 at 9:26 AM
Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, or fortunately many people in the community do not find things at Pleasantdale to be broken, therefore there is nothing to fix. It is always easy to point out the flaws and deficiencies as the barking dog gets the attention. But when there is good being achieved, sometimes at costs or displeasure of some,it goes overlooked and under-appreciated, like the silent cat catching the mouse. JQ PUBLIC must be pretty pleased with what is happening, else the numbers would have been higher!

March 25, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Bill O'Reilly said...

Last Anonymous Post - I don't necessarily agree with you. There was a SOLD OUT Race to Nowhere Movie and a volleyball tournament that same night. Plus, the forum is not the only place to have met the candidates. I would not let the attendance fool you from the other night.

March 25, 2011 at 2:42 PM

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