The tenor of the hearing was completely different, due in part to the much different decorum of those who spoke in opposition to the pending legislation to allow a referendum to be held. The Committee did not have to endure the distortion and race-baiting that was presented the previous day by Ireton, Mary Ashanti and Kevin Johnson. Instead, the WCEA's vice president, Stephanie Lewis, offered an articulate and objective analysis in support of its position that the entire board should be elected. The WCEA opposes the "hybrid" concept in which some of the Board’s members would be appointed by the County Executive, but not the election of the members.
Delegate Carl Anderton and County Council President, John Cannon, made strong statements in support of the hybrid concept and responded well to questions by the delegates, pointing out that each member of the Committee resides in a County that has an elected school board. It’s a shame they did not testify at the Senate hearing.
Several delegates on the Committee made interesting observations and asked pointed questions. Delegate Buckel wanted to know why an elected school board would not be appropriate in Wicomico County since it works well in every other County.
The only disturbing aspect of the hearing was testimony presented by J. C. Parker, a former teacher and teachers’ union spokesman, who stated that because the County Council had just been elected its members were not well aware of the public sentiment. He fails to understand that we have just had an election campaign in which the candidates met and spoke with many residents and participated in candidate forums in which topic was discussed, and that a public hearing on the proposed change was held in February. In addition, as Delegate Anderton pointed out, the topic has been widely discussed for many years, during which legislation was passed by the General Assembly but vetoed by O’Malley at, he believes, the request of Rick Pollitt.
Simply put, enough is enough, Mr. Parker. It is clear that a majority of Wicomico County residents want an elected school board, and for good reasons. Here is the testimony presented at the hearing and the statements by several members of the Committee. We apologize if any names are misspelled – the audio if heard to hear in some places. By the way, we think that the WCEA's position should be seriously considered.
Click READ MORE BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO FILES.
Anderton
John Cannon
Response To Questions
J.C. Parker
E. Andraskavidge
S. Lewis
Del. Buckel
Del.Barnes
Del. Afzali
Not really sure if i understand what is happening here. I thought ireton ashanti and Johnson were speaking against an elected board. Is wcea now changing their position in support of an elected board?
ReplyDeleteThis is yet another reason why all of Salisbury & Wicomico residents should be visiting and reading SBYNEWS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust look at today's DT, or WBOC, or WMDT, or any other media for that matter. NOTHING ABOUT THIS!
Great investigative job again - for the umpteen time - for SBYNEWS.
Joe, what do I need to download to play these files? Adobe Flash Player won't play them. I have Quicktime as well.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCareful what you wish for, it may not turn out as you expect. Those running will be seeking contributions to finance their campaign. The largest donations will come from the local teachers unions and the like from thru out the state.
So, unless the voters are wiling to dig deep and finance your candidates, they may come up short.
You are do right 10:18. Nothing but a political power play by the union as they will funnel the money to their democratic candidate. Either that or Stephanie Lewis was drunk as she is known throughout the school community for her heavy drinking. JC Parker is an old loud mouthed bully collecting a pension from both the WCBOE and MSEA.
ReplyDeleteDid ireton and Johnson speak against the elected board only to have lewis change direction and support it? They are all on the same wcea board of directors. I agree it sounds like msea is trying to pull a fast one on us to get their liberal jack offs into those positions
ReplyDeleteForget these unions! Join the Eastern Shore Education Association. I did at the beginning of the school year. Better liability insurance and not political. I saved over $400 in union dues!!! Can't get any better than that!
ReplyDeleteHow do you join? Is there a website?
ReplyDeleteThank god we elected Anderton over Conway!
ReplyDeleteThe jobs bill that creates jobs for evolution and now a good showing at the school board hearing. I am so glad that I voted for him.
"Liarton" -- it fits like a glove!
ReplyDeleteThe previous legislation was not did not receive a vote and did not receive a "veto" by O'Malley. The bill was stymied by Delegate Rudy Cane and died in committee without a vote.
ReplyDeleteYou had stronger opposition in the Senate hearing because of it being presented by Mathias...who no doubt called on his liberal friends like Ireton to come forward and have their say in the senate hearing.
The House Committee will probably wait and see if the senate bill gets any movement before they decide what to do with it.
An elected board is long overdue.
-Mike McDermott
Mike- the Senate bill was presented by Eckardt. Mathias refused to sponsor or co-sponsor.
ReplyDeleteI believe they were referring to the 2011 bills HB1324 and SB 981.
HB1324 passed 141-0.
SB981 passed 46-0.
Both were passed by the General Assembly. Yet not implemented.
What happened to them if they weren't vetoed?