Local Friends... One more post about this election… Tomorrow is the day… Please vote YES on the school superintendent referendum. Are you tired of “politics as usual” in Walton County? I’m sure sick and tired of it. I know politics is a dirty business, but this has been ridiculous. Take away your right to vote? Seriously? Since when should we elect every single professional position in our local government? Do those who are so concerned about their “right to vote” want to start electing the Fire Chief and Planning Director too? How about school bus drivers? Will you step up and start a referendum to make that happen? Of course not – because that’s not what this is all about. The “take away your vote” argument is being pushed by a few people who are worried about losing some of their political power. There are plenty of qualified candidates within Walton County? If thats the case, what are people worried about? Won’t those qualified candidates stand out from the crowd when all of the resumes arrive for our elected school board to review? Doesn’t a free market select the best person for the position? If there is a local person who is the best person for the job, I will be the first to welcome them to the position. If not, our kids deserve the most qualified superintendent who wants the job. And what about all of those conspiracy theories? Sorry, but the people behind this referendum are actually just a group of concerned local citizens - from across the political spectrum - trying to improve our schools. But the conspiracy theorists have excellent imaginations! I hope the new appointed superintendent will recruit them to mentor creative writing classes. That’s it for the negativity… Back to the positive change we can make happen tomorrow... Please vote YES… Here’s my recent post, just to remind you why you should show up at the polls tomorrow: We have an opportunity to improve our schools and therefore our community as a whole, and all it takes is for YOU to show up and vote... I’m asking you to please vote YES on the school superintendent referendum on August 26th (and early voting begins August 16th). Right now, the school superintendent is an elected position in Walton County. How does that matter, you ask? To run for superintendent, a candidate needs to live in Walton County, and that means our candidates come from a very small pool of local people. This is a very strange way to fill the county’s highest level school management position. This is a position that requires very specific technical skills and knowledge in the world of education management. As it stands, this election process doesn’t necessarily lead to the most qualified person. Instead, it favors 1. those willing to run for office, 2. those with the money to run for office (or those who sell their souls to raise the money), and 3. those who spend a lot of time and effort on the campaign trail. Last I checked, none of those are part of the technical skills and knowledge needed to run a school district. And like anything in politics, money buys influence. When your superintendent is a politician, he or she can be “bought” with campaign donations. If you don’t think that’s currently happening, I have some swampland here in Florida I’d like to sell you… We can do better. When I think of my field of urban design and planning, I’m very thankful that we don’t elect our county’s Planning Director. I want someone in that position with real qualifications to run the planning department. Thankfully, our elected officials have the opportunity to appoint a highly qualified professional. I just want the same for our schools. If enough of us vote YES, our elected school board will have the opportunity to sort through resumes from around the country (and within the county, too) to find the MOST QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL for the job. And if that person doesn’t do the job well, we don’t need to wait four years to get rid of him or her. It’s really that simple. Now that’s a change I can get behind… And I’m not alone – There’s a pretty remarkable group from across the political spectrum that’s supporting this change. I hope you’ll help make this happen – Please vote YES on August 26th.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 00:38:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015