great job Heather Cook School board’s decisions failing students and communities Story Comments Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size 1 . Posted: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 11:12 pm 0 comments How can we warn our children against the effects of bullying when our Board of Education has in fact made itself public bully No. 1? Since the talks began concerning the closure of Lacy Elementary School, our community has made its presence known. We have had our concerns ignored and mocked — but most of all we have been bullied. The board initially said the closure of Lacy was due to the building being more than 50 years old. However, that information was incorrect. The school was rebuilt in 1972 following a fire. Furthermore, a school does not have to be closed because of the age or becaue of the number of students that attend. Keith Sharp was the architect who evaluated Lacy and gave the incorrect information to the board regarding the age of the building. The board disagrees that Sharp has a conflict of interest in the matter even though the closure of Lacy, Belmont, and Holiday elementary schools resulted in his company being awarded the $12.8 million dollar renovation to Pembroke Elementary School. We were also told the closure was due to transportation costs. They stated busing Lacy students to other schools would create a cost savings. Not only will our children be subjected to long periods of times on the buses, but now the board has approved spending $405,066 of next year’s budget for four more buses. These buses don’t even have air conditioning on them. So on top of making our children ride these buses for hours at a time, now they will be suffering from heat exhaustion. They also want to make our out-of-state teachers pay tuition for their children to attend the same school district that they teach in. As if our teachers don’t sacrifice enough, now you want to penalize them for wanting to keep their children close to them? The board claims that they are trying to save money yet it’s completely acceptable for them to buy the property on Country Club Lane for $539,800. The property was purchased by the previous owner only one year earlier for $270,000. JKS architects and engineers estimate that it will cost another $2.2 million just to get the land ready for development. These costs don’t even include athletic fields and other auxiliary structures. Tell me how any of this is effective cost savings. If we counted how many times the board has backed up and punted, we would have enough for an entire football season. Then we also have Jack Lackey, attorney for the school board. What a wonderful influence you are. What a way to teach our children to be a doormat and not to fight for what you believe in. What a way to teach them if you bully enough, as you were quoted in the closed board meeting, that “this thing could die.” Another example was your quote regarding our lawsuit, when you said, “They’re not going to be able to sell enough signs or have enough yard sales” and “this thing will start to wear off after they start getting legal bills.” Good job, Jack, on being an example to our next generation of leaders. I hope that they take a lesson from the Lacy community about determination and perseverance, rather than the Lackey approach to open mouth and insert foot. In closing, as the old story of “The Three Little Pigs” says, you can huff and puff and blow all you want, but this community is made of brick. We will not fall down. Heather Cook Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:58:18 +0000
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