Dublin Schools need a Change!

By Norm Lee

A new school board is what Dublin needs to continue moving forward in order to provide the best opportunities for our Students

I am a concerned parent with young children in Dublin schools. I am concerned that our current school board doesn't have the vision, courage, and leadership to provide our children with the best opportunities for success. For far too long has Dublin USD settled for mediocrity and it's time to change things for the better.

Specific areas for improvement include:

- Collaboration between the elemetary, middle, high schools to ensure that our students are prepared as they go through the school district. This currently does not exist. The end result is many students are not prepared for their grade level studies. The ineffective solution has been to provide intervention programs to "catch" these students. Prior, proper, planning amongst the grade levels can reduce and minimize the number of students that "fall between the cracks"... Hence reducing intervention programs and giving back to the district resources to use on other needs/programs.

- Facilities Projects. There are numerous projects that have not been properly closed out by the district. The impact is the State will not take liability for any project that was not properly closed with required documentation. Hence, the Dublin USD willingly takes all liability for facilities and makes us vulnerable to financial damages in the event of an incident. By simply, completion required paperwork to close out projects, the district reduces the risk by turning liability of our facilities to the state.

- Revisit the increased graduation requirements. This was voted on and passed by the current school board over 2 years ago. Yet, even today there are no checkpoints and safety nets in place to ensure all our students can achieve the new requirements. At a recent candidates forum, the incumbent stated that he would request a status to track implementation progress. Shouldn't the current board know how things are going? Something as important as our children's success should not be taken so lightly. No provisions are made for transfer students, special ed students, etc. The new requirements are applicable to all without exception. Very unfair policy with a very high risk of failure.

- Open, honest, and effective communications. The Dublin USD board meetings average 4 hours! Duplicate comments and personal viewpoints often cloud the school board bi-weekly agenda. After a long work day for many board members, district staff, and community participants, how effective is an evening meeting that last 4 hours? The board needs to stay focused on business at hand and address only items and issues relevant to the agenda. Poorly run meetings with a various tangents doesn't reflect well to our community.

As a seasoned project manager and active school/community member, I will bring many things to the board.

I will streamline the way we approach, discuss, and decide on topics and issues. I will engage our community and really get their input on important decisions. I will always keep our children's best interest in mind. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure our students success.