Why do people who run for school board run as independent not in a part?

As far as I'm concerned, we should keep politics out of education as much as possible. Politics is ruining education. School board members should not identify with a political party, receive support from one, be lobbied, etc. Keep all that mess out and let's do what's best for each student (and let the parents, educators and students have the input). More cooks in the kitchen and back seat drivers do not help the process!! We can see what that has done so far with all the testing and "expert groups" out there trying to drive education. It has not improved it one bit (in fact the opposite) and it has cost buckets of money. The sooner we can get these people and their special (many times financial) interests out, the better.

Virginia law requires that School Board candidates run as independents. There is no party designation on the ballots.

However, Virginia law allows the political parties to endorse candidates. And it is almost impossible to get elected if you are not an endorsed candidate. So almost all School Board candidates are clearly aligned with one party or the other.

Politics should not be closely intertwined with education. But that is not the case in Fairfax County.

Anyone that believes in higher taxes and more admin staff for schools is clearly a democrat.

Anyone that believes college is only for snobs is clearly a republican.

Anyone who believes that pithy one liners tell the whole story about a political party or a person is clearly not a critical thinker and probably went through school with NCLB rules.

Make it rain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone that believes college is only for snobs is
> clearly a republican.


anyone that believes a college diploma will guarantee you a high paying job is an idiot

Anyone that believes people in high paying jobs are not all idiots is an idiot.

Did anyone see the article in the paper about Janie Strauss inviting Montgomery county school board to advise them on how to hire a supe?

Probably not a bad idea-but Strauss implied that our new board members are just clueless about how to hire someone. I guess they are getting together to "discuss" it. Couldn't they have just written down a few choice pieces of advice or something? or a paragraph or two on what they would do differently?

This board LOVES meetings.

an observer Wrote:
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> Did anyone see the article in the paper about
> Janie Strauss inviting Montgomery county school
> board to advise them on how to hire a supe?
>
> Probably not a bad idea-but Strauss implied that
> our new board members are just clueless about how
> to hire someone. I guess they are getting
> together to "discuss" it. Couldn't they have just
> written down a few choice pieces of advice or
> something? or a paragraph or two on what they
> would do differently?
>
> This board LOVES meetings.

They also love to read a lot -- check out all the items they received from Montgomry Cty!

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=8RUJEB4CCC98


superintendent search timeline 1997.pdf (86 KB)
superintendent search timeline 2004.pdf (84 KB)
Timeline for Superintendent Search Process 2010-11, Montgomery CO MD.pdf (53 KB)
Appointment of Superintendent.pdf (22 KB)
Award of Contract to Search Firm-Resolution.pdf (24 KB)
Communications Plan-Community Events.pdf (14 KB)
Conditional Appointment of Superintendent.pdf (20 KB)
Desired Characteristics.pdf (41 KB)
Final RFP to Prospective Offerors.pdf (868 KB)
Focus Group Schedule.pdf (661 KB)
Interview Panel Stakeholders.pdf (16 KB)
Invitation to Confidential Dialogue.pdf (45 KB)
Invitation-Focus Group and Community Meetings (2).pdf (74 KB)
Leadership Profile Report - final.pdf (289 KB)
Media Announcement-Community Input Summary.pdf (30 KB)
Response Letter to RFP.pdf (24 KB)
Summary of Search Process 4 Fairfax Handout [Compatibility Mode].pdf (178 KB)
Summary of Search Process 4 Fairfax Slide Show.pdf (167 KB)
Supt Search Process Timeline and RFP (2).pdf (867 KB)



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response to FFX parent_seeyadale

Good grief. Why in the fire do they need a meeting?

I think it's great that Ffx Co. is getting advise from Mont. Co., why not gather information from a similarly large and successful school system? In the past people complained that the board would not listen to "not invented here" ideas.
Now ya'll are complaining that they are getting info from outside? Good grief, I can't imagine why anyne would want to be a school board member, low pay, long hours, and idiots who only complain!

make it rain +!!!!!!!

BTW people with college diplomas make over $800,000 more in a lifetime than those without, it is a good investment. I can see why republicans wouldn't want people to go to college tho, smarter voters eat into ignorance needed to vote for their candidates-take a look at your line up for President, extremists religious zealot wackjobs with no integrity or sense. Maybe you should draft Sarah?

All of those religious zealot and wackjobs who are running for president went to college (including Sarah). Some have advanced degrees even. Oh, yes, I think all of them have surpassed the 800K extra as well. It seems that a college diploma does not guarantee that a person won't be a wackjob.

How much did the school board spend on the "search" company which found Jack Dale?

The School Board controls over half of the budget for Fairfax County - over $2.2 billion. Anytime you've got an elected organization that handles that kind of money, politics will be involved.

Frankly, I would rather see these positions be treated just like any other elected job, with partisan elections. By requiring folks to go through a nomination process, you ensure proper vetting of candidates and the candidates get a campaign apparatus that lets them focus on ideas and developing their message, not worrying about voter lists and phone calls.

There's no way to separate education from politics because we live in a world with scarce resources, and that means prioritization. That priortization inevitably becomes political. Fighting it is pointless.

As noted above the reason why the slots are independent is two fold - first, it's Virginia law. Second, it allows for a wider pool of candidates because federal employees are barred from seeking partisan office. That cuts out a wide swath of folks in Fairfax.

Schoeneman is a delegate wannabe. He wants the Board to be political for his tea party antics. He tries to write from an altruistic and realistic view but in the end he is a good ole boy with views from the far right.

Education does not belong in politics. Parties do little to support SB candidates they just use them as bottom feeders for the ticket. Candidates can get proper vetting through town meetings and other events during election time. Why the need for a party other than to use Board members for party platforms? This is not appropriate for education.

This current Board appears dysfunctional with extreme views and is undertaking an apparent staff witch hunt. A poor reality show likely to decay the strengths of the current system.

answer to vetting:
I have no clue about Schoenemann's motivations--but, if you think the board is not partisan, you are sadly mistaken.

The Democrat pary endorses three people and so do the Republicans. The Dems require that those requesting endorsement sign a form which says that they will drop out of the race if they don't get the endorsement. Then, they choose people who have been active in the party. They chose McElveen over Maria Allen. I am sure that McElveen is a nice young man, but he is lobbying for one hour per day language instruction in the elementary school when we don't have enough money already to pay for a good teacher pupil ratio. This is unrealistic in these financial times. Maria was far more knowledgeable about our schools, but the DEms chose Ryan and Maria dropped out.
The Dems also chose Glassman who was under charges for assault--she had to drop out because of that.

And you claim Schoenemann is trying to get Tea Party people?

The Republicans can stay in whether they get the endorsement or not. Tell me which party is the more "partisan" on the School Board.

I don't think the Board is partisan, it is! My point was that in a perfect world it should not be partisan. The losers in this partisan Board are the students and tax payers and somehow by the grace of God the system survives and this is due to the good teachers and staff that have a passion for what they do.

Maria Allen was more knowledgeable than most who ran but she had an acerbic personality. Schultz and McLaughlin have big mouths, are polarizing people and have tremendous egos. They don't know when to SHUT UP. Frankly I think they lied to the public about their intentions. McElveen might not be too bad once he gets some time on the Board. Back to Schoeneman---he thinks he knows it all but knows very little. He is just a small town blogger trying to get noticed and spinning issues.

I don't have any sinister motivations, and I'm not running for public office anytime soon. I simply want a well run school board that spends my tax dollars wisely - in the classroom, on students and on teachers. And I want School Board members who don't pander to get an endorsement and then ignore their affiliations after they get elected, ala Liz Bradsher.

It still brings a smile to my face when I'm accused of being a Tea Partier - especially when some of them have accused me of being a RINO, given my stances on labor and social issues. If both sides think I'm on the other, that tells me I'm where I should be. Regardless, no one who has ever heard me speak, met me, or spent more than ten seconds reading what I write is going to call me "far right." Nice try.

The Board is partisan now and we don't live in a perfect world, so there's no point in trying to pretend otherwise. If the board is officially partisan, we're simply acknowledging reality while at the same time ensuring that candidates get more than a cursory vetting. As A Response noted, in a real primary, Glassman would never have gotten to where she was with that assault charge.

I haven't seen what McLaughlin is doing, but Elizabeth Schultz is doing exactly what she said she would, and what we want her to do.

Brian said:

"The Board is partisan now and we don't live in a perfect world, so there's no point in trying to pretend otherwise. If the board is officially partisan, we're simply acknowledging reality while at the same time ensuring that candidates get more than a cursory vetting. As A Response noted, in a real primary, Glassman would never have gotten to where she was with that assault charge.

I haven't seen what McLaughlin is doing, but Elizabeth Schultz is doing exactly what she said she would, and what we want her to do."

+1

Charisse:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2805258/posts

guilty