Time Is Ripe For Opportunity

Change. It’s the buzzword of the year and it has filtered down to our school district with the collision of many issues — the budget crisis, the consent decree high school postponement, possible school closures and three newly-elected school board members who have the potential to swing a majority vote.

The board will face its share of formidable challenges in the coming months with one task in particular standing above the rest — picking a new superintendent. We need a leader who will source change and fiscal responsibility. We also need a leader who will cultivate a common-sense and compassionate culture – someone who will truly understand what is being asked of staff, teachers, parents and students asked to cut budgets, close schools and ultimately lose jobs and opportunities.

The new superintendent must be more than an ego-driven figurehead.

This new board needs to do its homework. Diana Rodriquez, Donald Terry, Gustavo Arroyo and Patrick Kennedy all stood up for the issue of strong community engagement.This ideal needs to hold and these new members need to avoid the comfortable crawl of delaying decisions while waiting for staff reports. The new board team must not hear only what it wants to hear, instead it must persistently listen to public comment and internalize voices other than its own.

And what will we do? As parents, citizens, and activists it is important for us to continue to come together to hold this board accountable for change. The work of so many neighborhood groups over the past few years has planted seeds. We must continue to cultivate our crop, knowing when to be aggressive and when to be patient. We have a clear and legitimate voice and we will be heard.