Address to Mullica School Board- 5/28/14

Renee Goolden

Let me start by saying good evening to all.  I have been attending the board meetings for several months now and I've kept my mouth shut ( if any of you know me, you know this has been really hard for me).  Now that the Board has responded to inquiries that the public, parents, MTEA, and others have brought to your attention, I feel you have given me enough information to now speak up and out on several subjects that are not clear to me.

Lunch 

Mrs. Tomasco

So educated, thank you for reiterating your credentials; but I would like to see you put them to use.  As to what you had to say at the last meeting, I respectfully disagree; you showed us a power point presentation about how we were losing money.  I have a problem with that because who exactly was in charge previously when we were losing money? Are we, the school, still paying Linda Faviour her salary & benefits, not the privatized cafeteria? Why is that? Last month the money was still being mismanaged in the cafeteria along with pink slips and nasty gram e-mails going home to parents saying that their kids owed an astronomical amount for some....Although some may be right, the process is not!  If there is an outstanding balance of a certain amount, pick whatever amount you choose, parents should be notified sooner, not the way it is going now.  So who will be held responsible for the bill if left unpaid?
I personally have had MANY problems with this over the last several years.  That is why I send my children in with the money the day they want to eat ( and that may be 3-4 times a month only) and I received a bill when I send in cash!  Please explain that?  Something is not right.  So again when the balances are not paid, are we as a school on the hook for the bill or is it the private company's problem?  Oh, and the portion sizes do not reflect what the kids need; I agree with Mrs. Stollenwerk from the last meeting.

Same goes for the Latchkey Program, who was responsible for it ?  So who let it go in the hole?  We are a smaller, wonderful community who always put children's safety and our families, neighbors, and friends first.  I know we are not responsible for hiring PT local staff but you are taking this to another level that is unacceptable.  Where are all of you from????  It is making more money now because the parents do not have the option of sending the kids only when needed and are stuck paying for a whole week, that's why there is a surplus of money.  At least that's how I see it.

Parent Drop Off Loop

That is exactly what it should be and it is not.  Parent continue to get out of the vehicle and hug & kiss even though there is a police presence.  This has been an ongoing problem.  Where is the change?

Police Officers 

I have been a parent volunteer for seven years now; It has been a pleasurable & welcoming experience until recently.  With the changes of this new security desk, when I come to the school(as I have done for years) I do not feel welcome any more and feel like I do not belong there.  When the school staff is at the front desk, it's welcoming to all.  We are a small community school that has always thrived with the help of parents.  Why is it that we are no longer welcomed?  Even with school dismissal this is so confusing, the rules have changed and we as parents are not informed on how to retrieve our children.  Sometimes you are or are not permitted to go to the Middle School Offices, or go to the Elementary Office?  What do the police officers do?  I have to sign in repeatedly to sign the kids out but ....(rest of paragraph edited out for safety concerns)

Test Scores

Mrs.Brownhill

You made some colorful graphs....thank you for that.  Let me explain to you what I saw.  The 8th grade purple color was higher than all the others; why is that you ask?  Well, let me explain my theory.  The classrooms have changed so much with the heterogeneous classroom changes.  The kids in the 8th grade have had the continuity of care of learning of which we have become accustomed to and hold our school and kids to a higher standard.  That is why we are consistently across the board higher than the state's requirements for the 8th grade, at at least we were.  With that being said, are we as a school not striving for that anymore?  Is meeting the state standard just good enough?  Sorry, but I respectfully disagree; you have heard from parents and children in high school who say they would not be doing as well if they didn't have the education that they received here at Mullica.  I expect the same for my children.  Do you plan to look back and reflect after it's too late for some kids?  There is a problem/disconnect or whatever you want to call it.  It needs to be addressed!  We have always expected and demanded more.  The 1 or 2 children who didn't sleep well or eat a good breakfast on test day will always be there, but the numbers don't lie, spin it however you like.  Now you are going to hold the teachers responsible and hold tenure over their heads.  You are right, there is a big disconnect here.  Most teachers are here for the love of the children; keep it that way, I know it's not for the money.  I want my higher standards back!

To The Elected Board Members

So when I come to the meetings, the impression I get is that you want it over quickly; you second, then concur and I feel that the only one who is actually looking out for us is the newly elected individual, Mr. Stollenwerk.  He actually questions, reads and is answered.  Why don't more of you do this, are not you working for us as a school?  Please show more effort in what you have been elected to do.  We the parents/teachers ask the questions and they don't get answered for 2 to 3 meetings and are still not resolved.

The subject of PRINCIPALS, please explain to me and all on how this is going to work and save us money.  If you told us rather than keeping us in the dark then we could support and understand, or not.  Give us the tools instead of expecting us all to fall in line.  It's insulting to us  Why the changes now? I understand that change is inevitable but what we have has worked for years.  We are not a big school, we are a 2 in1 school.  Elementary and middle kids are treated differently due to age/grade, keep it that way. Bottom line: where is the savings????

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.  With that said, a lot of mistakes have been made, things have been said, true or not, we all make mistakes.  You only fix them by owning them.  You can move on so let's come together and make this happen.  Thank you for your time, again I look forward to further discussion regarding:
1. Test Scores
2. Latchkey Program
3. Parent Drop Off Loop
4. Police Officers
5. Dismissals
6. Principals

Again, I appreciate your time and attention to these matters.
Respectfully,
Renee Goolden