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The Special called School Board meeting for Monday night at 7:00 PM didn’t happen….only two board members showed up: Sammy Welch and Stacy Herrin. Mrs. Perkins had expressed at the regular board meeting on Thursday night that she would be unable to attend. Linda Curlee was out of town (but I don’t think she could attend anyway because of conflict of interest concerning the Chris Lane land…but I am not sure about that). Dale Shots called Glenn Harris just before meeting time and said he would not be at the meeting……without a quorum there could be no official meeting. (It was interesting that not even the lawyer was there…so pretty much a done deal before Monday night)
My goodness….what’s up with these people!…but, all was not lost. The crowd of about 20 people including Glenn Harris, Stacy and Sammy listened to the presentation Stan Bulger had prepared for the meeting. I believe only one parent, Taffany Booth, was in attendance. Representatives from the Architectural Firm were present. Several grandparents attended as well as local interested citizens.
Stan gave an excellent presentation on the need for our board to follow certain procedures when making decisions…look at the entire picture.
Stan would like to see an advisory board established to assist the school board in researching projects that are being considered by the board.
Bulger discussed pros and cons on the Chris Lane property. Stan stated several time he was not at the meeting speaking against or for the property, just pointing out his observations.
Many of the people in attendance support the Magee Elementary School being built on the campus where the high school and middle school are located.
Stan discussed several properties he felt could be acquired surrounding the “in town” location.
The meeting lasted about two hours…and much was learned …mainly…let’s talk…let’s work together…let’s listen. There are no easy answers…we could all plan the school if money was not an issue…but money is an issue. Glenn Harris answered several audience questions.
What wasn’t an official board meeting turned into one of the best “meetings” I have attended in a long time.
Listen and learn…more to come
First, someone should help that poor guy out with his presentations… He seems to be stuck in an 80s era elementary school science fair. Second, did he mention that nearly thirty thousand dollars has already been spent on the Lane property just figuring out if it could be used? And now they want to do that again on another property ( which happens to be in a flood zone)? Has anyone brought up the fact that the traffic is already terrible during school time, and adding more kids ( who are mostly car riders) is only going to compound the problem? Also, who in their right mind expects a small child to carry books up and down stairs daily? Is the city prepared for that lawsuit? Where will the play ground go? How will parents of young children feel about their five year olds interacting with 18 year olds? What will happen to the grounds when it rains? How much more money are the tax payers willing to shell out to scout out yet another property and bring it up to code? Just curious.