Open Dialogue With You On Our Agenda

The Board of Education has one of the most important roles in providing a high quality education for our children of Oxford.  The decisions they make will affect our children, our teachers and administrators, district wide employees, our community, and our town’s economic and educational development opportunities.

The Board of Education has many responsibilities as they take their oath to provide the highest level of free education.  According to “The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education” one of their many responsibilities is to “build public support and understanding of public education. This means communicating and interpreting the school district’s mission to the public and vice versa.”  Meetings need to include two “audience of citizen” sections to allow adequate time for community participation.  Meetings should have an open dialogue and Board of Education (BOE) members need to be able to take criticism and conduct themselves with the highest level of respect for others.  Mutual respect, in time, is earned through mutual consideration of each other’s thoughts and concerns.   Courtesy of speakers should be a high priority at each meeting no matter who is speaking.  The community wants to be heard and respected for their concerns.  They should be commended on their willingness to be an active member of our educational system.  Our teachers and administrators are the experts in their field.  Recognize their professional opinion and appreciate them for their constant dedication to our children and our children’s educational development.  Lead by example; when a child from our school system attends a BOE meeting, use this as an opportunity to really express how important they are to our community and acknowledge their courage to come forward and speak.  Treat others as we want our young to treat others.  They learn more by actions than they do by words.  Thank our busy parents for attending BOE meetings because they truly are the real voice of our children.  The Board of Education needs to show courtesy to all, be able to recognize the right to dissent, and sometimes have the courage to disagree.  Our community will respond when the Board of Education takes the time to seek real understanding of the needs and wants of our community through open dialogue.

We, the people, need to know that the public servants really do have our best interest in mind.   Public Servants do this by being open to listening and understanding.   Public Servants should be attentive, seek clarification, provide thanks for community involvement, and are not afraid to manage difficult situations professionally.   Answers are not always ready at the time of the question but, again, a strong leader will be honest and sincere.  Answers are deserved and having an open line of communication will help in managing optimal results in achieving a high quality education for our children. 

Amy Cote, Stephen Brown, and I realize the importance of having a very high level of communication.  We want to hear from you, we will be respectful of your opinions, and we will be truthful and sincere with our responses.   “We will work unremittingly to help our community to understand the importance of proper support for public education, whether it be in providing adequate finance, optimum facilities, staffing and resources, or better educational programs for your children” - The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education”  YOU are on our AGENDA and we will continue to listen to YOU!