Your Sparta Board of Education Vote is More Meaningful Than Ever

(For the record, this was written 2 days prior to the most recent Sparta Board of Education Meeting.)

Candidate Petitions for the open Board of Education seats are due to the County Clerk’s office on Monday, July 25th. By Tuesday, we will know who all of the candidates are for the Board of Education. Six of those people will be sitting behind that table come January. Never before has it been so important in Sparta that members of the community be VERY thoughtful in their selections for this election. With so many discussions over the past year at Board Meetings and amongst community members about expecting the district to defy mask mandates, demanding nonrenewal of staff members, and complaining about implementing required state standards into the school district’s curriculum, I think it is a crucial time to remember exactly what the Board of Education’s role in the town actually is before selecting the candidate you want to vote for.

I am going to focus on the most recent controversy as an example. Many parents have expressed concerns about the recent state standards on sex education at a K-8 level. In my opinion as a parent, Sparta schools have been extremely transparent about what standards they are required to teach and introducing tactics on how they plan to do that. The district also offers an opt-out option for parents that are not comfortable with their children learning through that curriculum, which many districts are doing. I am ALL FOR parents contacting their school district’s administration and even Board of Education members and expressing their opinions. I have no problem with anyone’s personal beliefs, political opinions or family values. However, I do have a problem with people being upset with the public education system operating exactly how it is supposed to—how it has for centuries—and expecting it to change for them.

The state hands down standards, mandates and regulations that every public school district is expected to follow. Period. Full stop. Having said that, ANY family may opt-out. This is all any administrator or board of education member needs to say to a parent with any concern. Here’s a more personal example within this example that may help clarify my point. Years ago, when PARCC testing was extremely intensive and, in my opinion, FAR too rigorous and impossible for any child to perform accurately during, I used to attend Sparta Board of Education meetings every spring only to read a statement that encouraged parents that felt the same way to opt their child out of testing. I wanted other parents to know that that was their right and an option if they had the same concerns. Dr. Rossi, the Superintendent at the time, and Kelly McAvoy, Board President at the time, politely let me say my piece and thanked me for my time. They allowed me to speak about it because they KNEW I could. Then I proceeded to opt my child out of testing for the next 8 years with no issue from the school district. He was accommodated by the teachers and allowed to read while others took the test and there was absolutely no issue. I didn’t GO to the Sparta Board of Education or the Superintendent to insist that they STOP administering the PARCC test. They have NO control over that. The Sparta school district HAD to administer the test. Whether they agreed or disagreed with my points about it at the time, they knew they had to, understood parental concerns and rights and allowed students to opt out. That was my only option to keep my child from testing and I took it, respectfully and happily.

When I wanted to encourage a body of government to STOP PARCC testing all together, I went to Trenton. I went to the State Board of Education Meeting that included the Commissioner of the Department of Education to talk to THEM because they were the ones making these decisions. TWICE. I went there with a different message: You need to reconsider your approach to PARCC testing and make it less rigorous, more achievable, closer to grade level, less time consuming, make it require less prep time, etc., etc. I went to TRENTON because THOSE people were the ones requiring the testing. Not Sparta. THAT is public education.

I just want to re-emphasize that I truly believe everyone is entitled to their beliefs and opinions at home. I absolutely support ANYONE fighting for those beliefs anywhere they want as long as it is in the appropriate arena. As long as you are talking to the people that can ACTUALLY change it, by all means, go for it. However, if you are going to your local Board of Education to take action on something they are not qualified to evaluate or have no authority over, the reality is you are wasting their time. Here in Sparta, we have really engaged and intelligent people overseeing the school district. We need Board Members that will do the same and support those people. We need people willing to LEARN the process from an unbiased, objective source. We need people with NO personal agendas and that are willing to provide feedback to the administration based on their community experience. The Board of Education does not RUN the schools. Simply put, they are not qualified to, and that is as it should be. The Board of Education is meant to be made up of members of the public from various walks of life – as it is now: a police officer, a school vice principal, a local photographer and stay at home mom, among others. There is nothing wrong with people being from all different backgrounds and walks of life. That approach brings much needed differing perspectives. The key is the people on that Board need to be FREE of personal agendas and have NO expectations for personal gain or work ONLY in the best interest of ONE group of people.

Here in Sparta, we have SO much that needs to be addressed. Things that we need our Board of Education to focus on – rather than arguing over things they have ZERO ability to control. We need to maintain and update our facilities. We need to retain teachers and staff members. We need to address the building issue at the elementary level and actually take action on it. We need to get to the bottom of where our budget money is going, how can we provide better services and spaces for special education and special needs students, and how to operate as efficiently as possible to maintain all that we have. THAT is what the SPARTA Board of Education can help inform. Those are the items that warrant lengthy discussions and informed questions during meetings. All Board members need to be open to training, unafraid to question decisions but understand that you don’t get your way EVERY time. You are there to support the administrators, staff members and students in whatever way you can. If you are one of those people, PLEASE consider running. Rarely are so many seats available and, more than ever, EVERY single one of those seats need to be filled with people like you. If you’re NOT running, PLEASE just carefully consider your vote. It is more meaningful than ever.